Misty Meets Another Match
by Glitcher
Summary: When Ash, Misty and Brock are caught in a fierce storm en route to Goldenrod City, they find themselves rescued by a friendly farmer boy named Cody, who Misty develops a crush on, but also sparks jealousy within Ash. Misty fans will love this! (Completed)
1. Welcome to the Motherwell Farm

.......... Um.... are we on? (taps mike) Oh, okay. Good morning/afternoon/evening fellow fanfictionites, and thank you for coming here. It's been quite a while since I posted a story here, but I managed to squeeze this one out despite my summer job as a fruit and veg' stacker (don't laugh!) Surprisingly, this is actually my first real non-humour fan fic posted on this site, so go easy on the reviews.

Okay, this fic was influenced by some experiences I've had here in my country village in Switzerland. Since I know most of you live in cities, I thought I'd bring the farm life to you with this story. I'd like to give credit to authors Mobian Warrior and Wild Growlithe, for their inspiration. ^_^

As suggested by the title, this story is an unofficial sequel to the popular pokémon episode "Misty Meets Her Match", where Misty got to know one of the Orange League gym leaders pretty well. I thought I'd take that a step further this time with more depth to the characters' interrelationship and the dilemmas that arise within. We all know that Misty has grown somewhat attached to Ash, but can someone with whom she feels more immediate intimacies break her from it? Read on.......

Disclaimer: I own Pokémon. Yup, that's right. I was mastermind behind Pikachu and its legion of money-sucking, brainwashing monsters all along. And all this time you thought it was Nintendo. Ha! I really had you fooled. Ha ha ha ha !.... *raises pinkie up to mouth Dr Evil-style*

*Everyone stares darkly at Glitcher*

o.O ; Okay, maybe I don't own _all_ the characters in this story. Just Cody and co. are mine. That's it. No, really, that's it. Hey, quit starin', buddy! I said get outta here!..... *snip*

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Misty Meets Another Match

by Glitcher

Setting: A quarter of the way through the Johto League. Ash has just earned the Hive Badge from Bugsy in Azalea Town (which is, as a matter of fact, the last episode I saw before I started writing this) and is on his way to Goldenrod City. Thus, our story begins..........

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Chapter 1

WELCOME TO THE MOTHERWELL FARM

"Chikorita! Tackle attack!" Ash commanded.

"Chiko!"

The animal-seed leaped forwards, and with one mighty head charge, it struck the final blow square between the eyes of the Sweet Scent-entranced Wooper. The dazed fish wobbled back and forth for a moment, then ultimately toppled to the ground, unconscious. Gasping at her defeat, the rival trainer called back her pokémon into its pokéball and comforted it with a heartening, "Never mind. You did great," for its effort. As always, Ash was enthralled by his victory and gave Chikorita a big bear hug, which the stumpy off-yellow pokémon adored. Then, in a gross display of bad sports-'mon-ship, it stuck its tongue out at Pikachu, standing at its master's feet. The little, yellow mouse didn't mind that much. It knew that Chikorita was always a little over-reactive when it came to its relationship with Ash.

"That was great, Chikorita!" Ash chuckled. "You're really improving on your aim."

"Chiko Chiko!" it cried happily, snuggling into Ash's chest.

Brock and Misty, who had been watching the whole fight from a nearby tree, stood up and congratulated Ash. Misty was amazed at the winning streak Ash had been on lately. This was his third consecutive victory this week. And it was only Tuesday morning! Actually, it was technically four wins, but Ash didn't like to include the bout he and his friends had with Team Rocket. They were more of a nuisance than a challenge, and Ash made sure that he and Pikachu sent them "blasting off again" clear across the horizon. He won't be seeing them again anytime soon.

The rival trainer stepped forwards and formally offered her hand to Ash, who accepted and shook it. "That was quite a fight," the girl said admirably. "And that's a really strong pokémon you have."

"Yeah, I guess Chikorita is pretty good at using its head," Ash replied with a cool air, recalling his pokémon back into its pokéball.

"That's something you can take after," teased Misty.

Ash fired her a look of disdain, but didn't raise his voice to her - not in front of someone whom he was trying to impress with his immense skills as a pokémon trainer.

The girl sighed, "I wish my Wooper was that strong."

At those words, Brock immediately sprang to the girl's distress and clasped her hands. "Don't worry about it, my fair lady. Where Wooper lacks in physical strength, it sure is strong of heart," he said passionately. "Just like the strength of my heart for -"

He was cut off by an all-too-familiar stinging pain in his ear, and he found himself being dragged away by an annoyed-looking Misty.

"The only thing strong around here is my will to keep you under control!" she quipped.

Just as Ash was about to bid farewell to the trainer, a dull rumbling could be heard from the clouds and the sky quickly darkened.

"Uh oh," he said worriedly, "it looks like it's going to......" Suddenly an apocalyptic monsoon came pouring down, drenching everyone in their clothes. "...... rain," he finished on a duller note.

Pikachu dived up Ash's jacket to take shelter and Togepi closed its quills in fear. The boom of a thunderclap chilled everyone to the bone, and the mist rolled in just as fast as the rain, blanketing the surroundings in a cold dampness.

"Ah! I'm soaking wet!" cried the trainer in a shrill voice. "I'm outta here!"

The girl took off into the mist before Ash had a chance to put in another word, because what he really wanted was to ask her for directions to a pokémon centre of some sort. But it was too late. The trainer had vanished and it would be impossible to find her again in this storm.

"C'mon," Misty raised her voice above the rain, "we have to see if we can find shelter!"

The trio of trainers took out their flashlights and wandered aimlessly through the mist in search of a place to stay. It seemed hopeless. This fog was like pea soup, and the beams from their flashlights almost seemed to stop dead just a few feet in front of them. They often tried calling out for help, but the loud splatter of rain was all they got in reply.

Misty, who was in the lead, continued forwards a few paces, then her heart stopped as she felt the ground suddenly give way from underneath her. She screamed and went sliding along with Togepi down a muddy hillside.

"Misty!" Ash cried.

"Pikachupi!"

Ash, Brock and Pikachu blindly darted forwards into the murkiness, and they too went tumbling down the hillside behind their companion. Further ahead, Misty was spinning around in circles as she slid down the wet slope. She tried as best as she could to cover Togepi and herself from the mud and rain spraying in their eyes. It was a nightmare. The slope went on for ages, and it was impossible to tell when it was going to end. Suddenly Misty felt herself careening through some thick bushes, and she landed heavily on the other side, dizzy and shaking. But thankfully she was in one piece, and her horrifying journey had finally come to a halt. She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in her upper right arm caused her to wince and fall back down again. It was just then that she realised Togepi wasn't with her anymore! She glanced around frantically and spotted, despite her blurred vision, the baby egg crying its eyes out in the mud a few feet away.

"T-Togepi!" Misty cried weakly.

She attempted to reach out for it, but paused as a shadowy figure emerged from the rain and approached Togepi from behind. It stopped and just stood there for a moment, staring down at Misty - its face cloaked by a hood.

"A-Ash? Brock?"

Misty blacked out......

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When Misty opened her eyes, she found herself lying in bed. She was still feeling slightly dizzy and her vision was a bit blurry, but that cleared up quickly, and the figures of Ash and Brock leaning over her came into view, with Pikachu sitting on Ash's shoulder.

Misty sat up with a jerk. "Ash! Brock! What's going on? Where am I?"

"Take it easy, Misty," Brock said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You took quite a fall and you injured your arm."

Misty noticed the bandage around her right arm and rubbed it gingerly. She was also completely clean of the mud that covered her when she fell. (Who cleaned her?) Misty looked at them, confused. "B-but, where am I?" she asked again.

Before either of them could answer, a door in the corner of the room creaked open, and in stepped a striking young man holding a pot of soup. Misty's heart skipped a beat. He was quite an attractive teenager - about fourteen or fifteen years old. He had blue eyes; short, light brown hair combed evenly to each side of his head; and the cutest looks that would have put the baby-faced James to shame.

"Good morning, Misty. How did you sleep?" he said with a soft smile, placing the soup on her bedside table.

Misty found herself unable to speak at first. "I-I slept fine, thank you," she stammered slightly. "Who are you?"

The boy sat down on the side of the bed. "My name's Cody, Cody Fawnheart. And you and your friends are on the old Motherwell farm."

"Motherwell farm?" Misty iterated.

"Mmm-hmm. You, Ash and Brock fell down the side of the hill on the North section and landed in our farmland. It's a good thing the rain softened up the ground a bit. That hill's really steep and you could have ended up injuring more than just your arm."

Brock continued, "Cody found you and brought you back here where he treated your injuries. He's a really nice guy."

Misty looked at him, perplexed. "And you two came out without a scratch?"

Ash laughed, "Well maybe it's because we're not a scrawny as you!"

"Scrawny?!" Misty shrieked, threatening to whack him with her pillow. But the pain in her arm returned, forcing her to control herself.

"You're still weak, Misty," warned Cody. "Here, eat this soup. It'll make you feel better."

Misty accepted the soup he handed her and cautiously took a sip. It tasted surprisingly good. She took a heartier spoonful and soon she couldn't stop herself.

Cody chuckled, "It's nice to meet a girl with an appetite. Oh by the way, I have something here that I think belongs to you." He reached into a basket beside the bed, which Misty hadn't noticed earlier, and pulled out a perky little egg, reaching for its mother.

"Togepi!" Misty squealed joyfully, plucking her baby pokémon from Cody's hands. She embraced it tightly. "Oh, are you alright?"

"Toge-frrrrriiiiiii!" chirped Togepi happily.

Ash, Brock and Pikachu exchanged smiles, content that their friend was safe and happy.

Cody stood up. "Come on, I want to introduce you to the rest of the family. Then maybe I can offer you all some _real_ grub."

The thought of a freshly made farm feast had Ash veritably drooling. When it came to food, no force on Earth could stop him from hoovering it into his stomach. Pikachu showed the same eagerness to stuff itself, and was practically bouncing up and down on Ash's shoulder with excitement.

Cody laughed and tickled Pikachu's chin (whom Misty found to be surprisingly friendly and acquiescent towards him), then turned and faced Misty. "Can you stand?"

Misty knew she had to show some signs of strength in front of such a charming and handsome host. Despite still feeling a little weak, she made an attempt to rise to her feet. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said confidently. "Lead the way."

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"I have to say, this is the best meal I've had in a long time," said Misty with genuine amazement. "Thank you very much, Mrs Fawnheart."

"Please, Misty, call me Grace," the old lady smiled at her.

They had a feast of steaks, potatoes, coleslaw salads, various breads, gravy.... If you could name it, you could eat it. Pikachu and Togepi were there too at the foot of the table along with several other pokémon, happily munching down a mixture of food scraps and pokémon chow Brock had prepared. The trio of trainers had been formally introduced to Cody's family - his parents, Mr and Mrs Fawnheart, and his big brother, Simon. Simon was quite a bulky character with a dark brown crew cut, and wore trademark farmer overalls. He wasn't quite as attractive as Cody, or at least Misty thought not. (Why was she thinking about that anyway?) But he had an unusual interest in Ash's Pikachu.

"That's a right fine Pikachu you got there, Ash," he said in a voice much deeper than Cody's. "Where'd you get it from?"

"Oh, it was Professor Oak who gave Pikachu to me in Pallet Town. That was when I was first starting out as a pokémon trainer. Pikachu was my first pokémon, and since then we've stuck to each other like superglue," he chuckled. "Pikachu's one of a kind."

The parents seemed surprisingly old for Simon and Cody. They could easily have been mistaken for their grandparents. But Mr and Mrs Fawnheart were nonetheless very nice people, and the latter had gladly cooked up a wonderful late lunch for their group of guests.

"So tell me," said Mr Fawnheart, addressing no particular trainer, "what're you youngin's doing on our territory?"

"George!" gasped Mrs Fawnheart, appalled.

"I'm just asking," the other said defensively.

"That's all right," said Ash calmly. "I'm travelling the Johto League with my friends here, but then we got caught in the storm this morning. We walked around for quite a while and, well, we fell down this slope and ended up on your farm."

"Ah, so you're one of those earn-as-many-badges-as-you-can pokémon trainers, right?" Mr Fawnheart crowed slyly, pointing his fork at Ash.

"That's right. And soon I'm going to be the world's greatest pokémon master!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" cheered Pikachu from below.

Misty rolled her eyes. She'd heard the same line a million times like a broken recording. Still, she had to admire Ash's determination. And his bragging always had a way of raising her spirits during bad times.

Mr Fawnheart looked up at his wife, who was busy serving another helping of peas. "Say Grace, d'you think you can prepare dinner a little later tonight? I have to make preparations for the next shipment for Mr Giovanni."

Brock and Misty froze at that name and Ash spluttered on the milk he was drinking. After the bout of choking coughs, Ash stared at Mr Fawnheart, wide-eyed. "Giovanni?! You mean the boss of Team Rocket?"

"Aye, that's right," replied Mr Fawnheart. "He's our boss too."

"You mean _you_ work for Team Rocket?!"

Mr Fawnheart laughed out loud, "Work for Team Rocket? I like that. I always thought slave labour was the better term for it."

Brock raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Mr Fawnheart swallowed a very large chunk of meat. "Ach, we're Giovanni's slaves. We make food for his agriculture division - one of the many sections in his vast moneymaking empire. Simon, go long with the roast."

"S-Slaves?" uttered Misty.

Ash looked at Cody and said in a rather aggressive tone, "But I thought the whole purpose of Team Rocket was to get their filthy hands on as many pokémon as they can."

"That's true," admitted Cody, "and in a way that applies to us as well. This is mainly a Miltank farm, you see, and we breed them for Giovanni's stock, along with milking them and growing all kinds of crops. Money doesn't come from just capturing rare pokémon, you know."

The three trainers exchanged glances of mixed perplexity and surprise. This was a side of Giovanni they had never seen before. Was this humble family part of the same Team Rocket that's been hounding them all these years? It was hard to believe.

"But why'd you say you guys are slaves?" Ash asked Mr Fawnheart.

The old farmer's wrinkled looks were soiled by an uncomfortable frown and he fell silent, staring down at his food absently. Nobody spoke for a moment, and in the silence Ash suddenly became aware of a faint growling coming from the foot of the table. He looked down and realised that Pikachu and Chikorita were arguing over who gets the last morsel of food, with Bulbasaur acting as referee. Chikorita tried to sway Bulbasaur in its favour with the fact that they were both animal-plants, but Pikachu insisted that it should have the last bite, since Bulbasaur and Pikachu were closest friends. In the end, Bulbasaur resolved the matter by eating the morsel itself, consequently causing Pikachu and Chikorita to collapse in disbelief.

Cody cleared his throat and nodded towards Misty's bandage. "That wound will take a few days to heal. You and your friends are welcome to stay with us as long as you want until you feel better," he offered amicably. "I'm sure all this travelling around and battling must be exhausting."

Ash intervened, "Oh no, we don't want to be any trouble. We were just -"

Misty quickly stamped on his foot under the table, getting him to shut up with only a painful squeak. "Oh, thank you very much, Cody," she grinned. "We'd love to get to know you... I mean, your farm a lot more."

Cody smiled. "That's great. I'd love to show you guys around. There's a lot of cool stuff around here I think you might like." He swallowed the last piece of his steak and wiped his mouth. "Speaking of which, why don't I give you a tour of the farm?"

Before Ash could speak again, Misty cut him off and stood up. "Thanks, I'd really like that. We're all done eating anyway," she said, ignoring the half-slice of steak still left on Ash's plate.

But Mr Fawnheart shook his head disapprovingly. "I dunno, Cody. Are you sure you want to do that?"

"George, be nice!" scolded Mrs Fawnheart, then turned to the guests with a soft smile. "You kids run along, we'll clean up here. Dinner's at eight o' clock. Don't forget."

"We won't, mom," Cody said as he got up. He turned on his heel and started towards the hall, but glanced back and beckoned towards Togepi and Pikachu. "Bring your pokémon too. I'm sure they'd like to come along." He led the trainers into the hall and picked a green, oil-stained cap off a hat rack beside the door. "Grab a cap that fits. We may not be in for a drink for a while. It helps to keep you cool."

Ash grinned. "But I already am cool."

Misty jabbed him in the side.

Cody stepped outside into the sunlight (which came as a surprise to the trainers considering the storm this morning) and onto the white wooden porch. He slipped on a pair of olive green rubber boots that were propped up beside the door. "If you don't want to get your shoes dirty," he said, sticking his head back inside, "grab a pair of rubber boots. I'm not letting you go barefoot. That's how you get ringworm."

Ash shuddered at the thought.

As soon as everyone was ready and they were about to set off, Simon came running out onto the porch and glanced around until he found Cody. "Oh, y'er still here," he said in relief. "I was afraid you guys had already left. I think I'll come along too. I still have - uh - chores to do in the barn."

Cody gave him a queer look at first, then just shrugged and nodded in agreement. But Pikachu sensed an odd uneasiness in the air; and as everyone made tracks into the field, the yellow mouse followed along behind them, having the strangest feeling.

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The farmland was something the trainers couldn't help but gasp at. It was huge! The farm was a semicircle of grassy fields and golden wheat pastures at the base of a high slope (the same one Misty fell down). The farmhouse itself was a little higher up than the rest of the area, placed on an elevated portion of land at the centre of the semi-circle's diametre, allowing for an ideal view of the whole farm. The farmland looked like it reached up to a mile in radius, where the trainers could barely make out the metallic glitter of a fence on the periphery. A short distance in front of them, a huge structure, which they guessed was the barn, arose near a large pond that stretched all the way back to the house. They noticed a trio of Politoeds sitting upon lilies on the water's surface, staring idly out into space and each croaking in turn.

"Bud..."

"...Wei..."

"...Ser."

And so on.

"You'll have to excuse my father back there, Misty," said Cody as he walked alongside her down the dirt path. "We don't usually get a lot of visitors around here."

Misty cocked her head to one side inquisitively. "Oh? Why's that?"

"Well," he said shortly, "we're not allowed."

"You're not allowed to have visitors?"

"Giovanni's rules. No one except members of Team Rocket are allowed inside this farm. In fact, outsiders aren't even supposed to know about this place. But enough about that for now. Tell me a little about yourself, Misty."

Misty blushed a bit. "Oh, there's not much to tell. I used to be a trainer in the Cerulean City gym in Kanto, but I've been doing some travelling around lately ever since _someone_ trashed my bike," she said scornfully, giving Ash the evil eye. "So I'm following him around until he pays me back for it."

Ash frowned, annoyed. "When are you going to get over that dumb bike? I told you I'd pay you back for it someday."

"You're the dumb one!" snapped Misty. "It's been two years since you wrecked my bike and you still haven't done anything about it! If you'd have just paid me back, I wouldn't have to follow you around." Misty didn't know why, but she winced at the sound of her own voice when she said that. She brushed the feeling aside in frustration and focused on Cody again. "Anyway, I still train with pokémon regularly. My favourite type is water pokémon. They're just so cute! I use them all the time."

"Water pokémon?" said Cody, a broad smile appearing on his face. "Hey, that reminds me....." He stopped and turned towards the pond, pursing his lips. He must have whistled, because almost instantly a jet of water shot up from the pond, and a sleek blue figure landed at arm's length away from him. Its shiny, wet body glistened in the sunlight, and it flicked its mermaid tail around elegantly to brush off the trickles of water. It immediately had Pikachu's attention.

Misty's eyes lit up. "Ooh! A Vaporeon!" she squealed in delight.

"Vaporeon?" Ash pulled out Dexter, his pokédex, to inquire on this rare and unusual pokémon, such as he did with almost every other pokémon he encountered. The screen of the bright red encyclopaedia flickered to life, displaying an exact replica of the ruff-wearing water fox grooming itself before him.

"Vaporeon, the bubble jet pokémon," Dexter narrated in its distorted nasal voice. "When its fins begin to vibrate, it is a sign that rain will come in a few hours." (A/N: This information is taken from Pokémon Gold.)

Cody knelt down and scratched the Vaporeon behind the ears. "Misty, I'd like you to meet Trixie, my pet Vaporeon."

The blue fox trotted up to Misty and rubbed its silky head against her leg. Misty was almost uncontrollably giddy inside. She'd never seen anything so adorable since Togepi. Water pokémon always had a way of getting her excited. She knelt down as well and stroked Trixie's head. It purred at her touch.

"I-It's a girl!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," smiled Cody, "I like girls."

This made Misty blush again.

Brock stepped up and inspected Trixie with admiration. He had great interest in the arts of pokémon care. "Wow! You've raised this Vaporeon really well. Just look at how shiny its skin is! And check out that gorgeous tail! You must feed it a lot of vitamins," he harped on.

"Trixie's a great help around the farm," the farmer said proudly. "She can tell whenever its going to rain better than any weather report, so we can make preparations in advance. Countless crops have been saved thanks to her."

"She's beautiful," said Misty dreamily. "I've never met another guy who likes water pokémon before."

"Thanks," Cody replied gently. "I've never met another girl like you before."

They didn't seem to realise it, but they were gazing into each other's eyes for a long time, until Ash coughed loudly and snapped them back to reality.

Cody got serious. "Anyway, what are we hanging around here for? Let's go check out the barn."

"Yes... let's," Misty agreed, her voice flushed and distant.

As they walked off together with Brock, Simon and Trixie following close by, Ash just stood there for a moment, watching Cody with a dark feeling of contempt. Sure he was kind and accepting, but Ash didn't like the way he was muscling in on his friends. Especially Misty....

Ash shook his head vigorously. What was he so afraid of? If Misty wants to get to know this guy, that's her choice, he thought.

But Ash couldn't help but feel 'redundant', like he was a third wheel all of a sudden. He sighed and supposed that what he was really afraid of was being... forgotten.

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The door of the barn creaked open on its rusty hinges and rattled loudly as it hit the doorstop on the beams, spilling daylight into the stuffy darkness inside. The golden dust visibly drifted aimlessly across the room, carrying a foul, musty odour, which the trainers believed to have spawned from the bales of hay and blackened dung scattered around the gigantic interior. They stepped inside and gazed around in silent awe at the towers of pitchfork-stabbed hay bales and rows upon rows of thin storage planks on the walls, stretching all the way up to the high ceiling.

Trixie strode ahead of then, gracefully waving her silky tail back and forth like a fur stole. She stopped a few metres ahead in a large alcove and sat down beside a dusty power box. Cody walked up to it, flipped a few switches, and suddenly a huge and noisy machine lit up, startling the trainers and their pokémon.

Cody motioned to the large machine and patted it proudly. "Actually, today is pretty special. We've just finished remodelling this, and you guys showed up just in time to witness its first test run."

Everyone stared in wonder at the large system of pipes and hoses all wrapped around a fair-sized milk tank. It resembled one of those Daleks from Dr Who (even the twin counters on the tank could be pictured as its eyes), but it looked bigger and mechanically ominous.

"The Milk Master v. 2.0, provided by Fawnhearts Enterprises, limited," Cody stated jokingly.

"That's great. Uh... what does it do?" Brock asked, giving the thing a quick once over on foot.

Simon filled in the details. "It's an automated milking machine. This baby will do in five minutes what it takes us two hours. All y'have to do is hook up a Miltank's udder to the suction cup down there, then this machine does the milking by itself and store what it collects in the tank."

Brock and Misty were still admiring the huge contraption. But Ash just gave it passing glance and turned away.

Simon stepped outside the barn via the side door and walked along the thin area of metallic fencing connecting the barn to the corral. He reached the opposite end and opened the gate. "Sixty! Eighty! C'meer!"

"Now what are you yelling at, Simon?" Ash shouted outside.

"I've got to call 'em somehow," he answered, shrugging.

"Who's 'them'?" came the obvious question.

But Simon was too busy scanning the corral to answer. He moved around the gate, took a few more steps and yelled, "Y'er gonna make me come after you in this soup, aren't you, yah bitches?"

Misty frowned. Vulgar language was also sternly frowned upon in her hometown gym, but you had to tolerate the locals. After a moment, two Miltanks walked in from the corral, closely followed by Simon. They were five feet at the shoulder - one was pink with white spots and the other was creamy white with pink spots. Both of them were wearing some sort of strange, black hood around their heads.

Ash whipped out Dexter again, and it displayed a picture of a standard Miltank pokémon, almost identical to the pair standing in front of him.

Dexter recited, "Miltank, the cow pokémon. It's milk is packed with nutrition, making it the ultimate beverage for the sick or weary."

They moved like dinosaurs, slowly lumbering along, swinging their tails and moving their snouts. Pikachu instantly fell in love with these giant cuddly toys. Even Togepi was clapping its hands (paws? flippers?) with joy.

"Pi, Pikapi! Pi-Pi-Pikachu! Pika-Pi! Pikachu!" It was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. The cows stopped at the doorway, raising and ducking their heads in fear.

"Will whoever is scaring them settle down?" Simon called loudly over the Miltanks' backs. "These pokémon freak mighty easily."

Pikachu stopped moving and crossed its paws, standing there sulking. Cody lent a hand and helped Simon lead the Miltanks onto a platform at the base of the Milk Master. Trixie was there to help keep the cows calm, whom they had developed an affection and respect for. She was, after all, the pet of 'the boss'. Cody followed the pokémon up, then locked their necks in place.

"That looks uncomfortable," Misty commented, a little concerned.

"Nah, they're fine," said Cody casually. "This is a manger. It's just to keep them propped up for the surprise."

Misty felt like asking, "What do you mean, 'surprise'?", but decided to wait and see instead.

Simon walked up to the front of the cows and ordered, "Sixty! Eighty! Freeze!"

The two cows stopped dead. Simon grabbed a pair of suction cups hanging on the tank, each of which had six little tubes sticking out of it, and handed it to his little brother. Cody knelt down and attached the cups to the Miltanks' udders, then stepped off the platform and dusted his hands. He walked over to the Milk Master tank and put his hand on a button, but kept an eye on Misty to watch her reaction.

"Surprise! Surprise!" Cody sang. "This one's for all the marbles." He hit the button, and the Miltanks suddenly began screaming in pain as the machine hummed to action.

"What are you doing to them?" Misty cried, moving to help the animals. She hadn't gone two feet before they stopped. "What happened?"

Cody chuckled, "The Hypnodrone kicked in - gave them some painkillers straight into the heart." The Miltanks just stood there, looking dumbly at each other. "It's running at thirty pounds per square inch - enough to milk a cow dry in five minutes."

"Hypnodrone?" Brock asked. He popped his head out from behind the Milk Master, from where he had been checking some of its specs.

A long silence ensued. Simon mouthed, "No," to his brother, but Cody ignored him and decided to show them anyway. He brushed away the hair on the back of his head slightly, showing the trainers a small implant bearing two tiny lights, one glowing green and the other a dull yellow.

"This is Giovanni's new pokénetic control measures. Everyone and every pokémon on this farm has to have one of these Hypnodrones implanted in them. We all get signals from the periphery fence when necessary. If they register, the yellow light flicks on and it controls your actions. You're forced to do whatever Giovanni or his subordinates tell you to do, whether you like it or not. That's why pop said we were slaves. The only thing you can still control is your speech. But when the green light's on, you're as free as a bird. I really hate the idea, but my parents think it's better than having our farm overrun by Team Rocket officials and having our lives and pokémon stolen from us. I think it's worse. You have no control, and you still get to lead a normal life."

Misty was shocked. "You're kidding, right?"

Cody shook his head sincerely.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed. "Can't you do anything about it?"

"Sadly, no. We've all had these things for years and we've never found a way of getting around them," he sighed.

Ash turned, giving Cody the evil eye. "Whatever. Why hasn't Giovanni got you puppets after our pokémon?" he said aggressively, expecting to have to flee.

"He could either not know, not care, or think you're stuck with us since you haven't left yet." He said it in such a way that Ash wasn't sure whether he was lying or not.

"Does it hurt?" Misty asked meekly, unsure if it was a fit question.

"No, it doesn't. The way it went in though, it sure hurt. Hurt like hell."

On the other side of the Milk Master, Brock was observing the milking process with some concern. "Hey guys, what's up with the Milk Master?" he asked. The machine had given a soft groan.

Simon looked at it worriedly. "Hmmm, the release valve should have kicked in by now...."

Suddenly the ends punched out!

"Look out!" Cody yelled, raising his arms. He pushed Misty out of the way before the pressure hose went flying wildly over their heads, blasting milk into the wall. It splattered everything, then Simon quickly hit the switch and the Milk Master powered down, gradually reducing the creamy-white geyser to a mere trickle. Everyone was partially soaked in milk.

After the ruckus had died, Misty dizzily opened her eyes and realised that Cody was lying on top of her, squishing Togepi in between them, but not hurting the egg in any way. His hands were still around her waist from where he pushed her, and their faces were only inches apart. She must have accidentally mussed his hair, or it was dishevelled by the fall, because he had a lock of light brown strands tumbling over his deep blue eyes.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

Misty was momentarily stunned. "You... you saved me."

Ash immediately charged in before he let the conversation go any further. He pushed Cody aside and helped Misty to her feet, but unable to do it without being a little rough.

"Ow! Ash, watch it!" She clutched her wounded arm from where he pulled her and glared at him scornfully.

Ash was about to retort, but he didn't know what to say. He could only turn and fire an icy stare at the so-called friendly farmer boy who pinned Misty to the floor. Who did he think he was advancing on her like that? He had no right to. If anyone should have saved her, it should have been Ash himself, not Cody. Never Cody.

Pikachu was completely drenched in milk. It had been closer to the blast area, and had received multiple showers from the out-of-control pressure hose. Trixie shakily lurched over to where Pikachu was, her beautiful looks ruined by the blast of milk, and shook herself off, splattering the mouse even more. Pikachu shook itself off too, spreading the milk back over to Trixie. The blue fox got feisty and flicked the milk back to Pikachu, and soon it turned out to be a contest between who could soak the other most in milk. It ended with both pokémon collapsing to the floor in laughter.

Elsewhere in the room, Simon wiped the milk off his face and stepped closer to the Milk Master, inspecting the gaping hole where the ends blew off. He punched at the tank with his left, making a deep dent in the side. He hardly noticed contact.

"Son of a bitch! Damn pressure valve stuck! I knew this hunk'a scrap would never hold together," he snarled angrily.

"Take it easy, Simon," Cody said. "We can have it fixed in a few hours. I'm sure pop wouldn't mind taking a break from the harvest to help us out."

"Ah, leave it!" Simon dismissed him with a wave of the hand. He was very frustrated for such a small mechanical failure. "I'll fix it up. You'd better get down to the corral and take care of the you-know-what."

Cody fell silent, then just nodded gravely.

Brock stepped up, dripping wet. "Uh... Cody, do you think you can give us a hand here? We're kinda soaked."

Cody's attention snapped. "Oh yeah, right. I think we should go and rinse off in the sprinklers up at the house."

Brock chuckled, "Okay. Fancy a race, Ash?"

"Huh? Er... sure, why not?" he replied, but not without giving Cody one last look of distrust.

They faced the barn door and knelt down into starting position. Then on the count of three, they raced outside in a mad dash up the hill towards the farmhouse. Pikachu looked at Trixie and asked if she was up for it too. Never one to back down without a fight, Trixie accepted the challenge. They crouched down at the door, and Pikachu counted to three.

"Pi... ka... CHU!"

And they were off! In hot pursuit of the two trainers who were already halfway up to the house. Cody led Misty out of the barn, leaving Simon to take care of the Milk Master.

"Think you can beat me in a race?" he smirked.

Misty grinned. Given the proper motivation, her long legs made her faster than Ash or Brock. "I don't know, only if.... I get a head start!" she laughed, taking off to the house.

Cody walked on, giving her a big head start. She had just reached halfway when Cody raced after her. He ran like an Olympic sprinter, moving swiftly and fluidly. He ripped passed her like Speedy Gonzales and tagged the house beside Ash, Brock and Pikachu, who were standing there gaping at this human cheetah. He stood there triumphantly, waving his hands over his head, and wiped away a fake tear. "I'd like to thank my coach, my parents for their undying support, and my brother for something to run away from."

Misty eventually reached the house with Togepi, puffing and panting. "Where on Earth did you ever learn to run like that?"

"Oh, when you have to catch a Miltank here on your feet, it's takes a real fast athlete to do it," he bragged casually. He placed his green cap by the door, which the others did too, and leaned down to turn on a tap. Water shot up from several corners of the luscious green grass. "Sprinklers, Misty. Misty, meet the sprinklers," he jokingly introduced the two. Brock, Pikachu and Trixie immediately jumped in with childlike vigour, and Ash eventually followed after them.

"Watch out for the Southernmost ones!" Cody called. "I wouldn't be surprised if _they_ broke down too."

Misty sighed to herself. Days like these never ended. Togepi was getting restless at all this excitement, but she stroked it tenderly and it gradually started to doze off. She thought it would be best to leave it in its basket inside the house to rest for a while. When she returned outside, she sat on the porch fence beside Cody and watched her companions dance in the jets of water. It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun felt warm against her skin, and she had never stopped enjoying herself on this old Motherwell farm. The distant chugging sound of a tractor faded in and out as Mr Fawnheart drove up and down the wheat fields behind the barn. She was kind of glad she got caught by the storm this morning and fell down that steep hill, otherwise she might never have known about this place. Or Cody.

Cody. She turned her head enough to catch him out of the corner of her eye and saw him staring at the horizon. He had a passive smile on the corner of his mouth, one that Misty supposed came from his good-humoured nature. His brown hair swayed lightly in the faint breeze, brushing the skin on his cheeks and occasionally flicking in front of his eyes.

Misty gulped. Suddenly the silence felt so awkward to her. She needed a conversation fast. It was then that she remembered the implant on the back of Cody's head when he showed her in the barn. He called it a Hypnodrone, and told her it reduced him and his family to slaves. It sounded awful, but she just had to know more about it. Maybe she could help console him on the matter. Besides, the silence was killing her.

"So..." she began, trying as hard as she could not to sound nervous, "when did you get that implant on your head?"

Cody's smile fell and he stared down at the ground. Misty panicked and realised that maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

"I-If you don't want to talk about it..." she quickly followed up.

"No, no, it's a fair question," Cody interrupted her. "I guess I owe you the whole story." He shuffled into a more comfortable position on the wooden fence and Misty hunched her shoulders forwards. "I've had this Hypnodrone ever since I was a little kid. That was back when Giovanni started going megalomaniac and dedicated himself to becoming the world's most powerful man. He ordered his scientists to come up with a device that would grant him unconditional control over whoever he had to force into his organisation. They worked on the project for years, and eventually they managed to create an implant that would control the host to obey Giovanni's orders. They used an army of Hypnos to help build the motor-controlling circuits, hence the name Hypnodrone.

"Once the device was complete, Giovanni ordered his Team Rocket members to go out and capture remote and inconspicuous, but relatively profitable industries. Our lowly farm was a prime target. They broke into our house, captured my family, and seized out cattle. I wanted to fight back, but Simon and I were too little to do anything about it, and my parents were afraid they'd lose us if they tried anything funny. They rounded us up like animals and we were each submitted to the torturous process of having a Hypnodrone drill itself into our skull, then the same procedure was operated on the Miltanks. It was called Hypnodronisation.

"After that, we were forced to remain on this farm, and Team Rocket placed a ring of sensors under the farm's periphery to hold us here. We were never once allowed to leave, since we would be able to seek help, and we were ordered to regularly donate our stock to Giovanni. From that day forth, I never saw the outside world again. I can't even remember what it looks like beyond the horizon. It was impossible to escape from our own farm because the sensors underneath the fence and the top of the hill you fell down ordered our Hypnodrones to guide us back into the farmland if ever we stepped outside. And whenever we tried to tamper with the sensors, the security system at the nearest Team Rocket base issued an automatic shut down, freezing everyone and every pokémon in place until an investigation team could come and resolve the matter. We were trapped.

"Visitors obviously weren't allowed here, since they might try to seek help for us once they left. But sometimes a few people accidentally wind up here in much the same way as you did. Most of the time they just come and go, but those who stay here for a while and learn about the Hypnodrone project often want to help us. It's always a bad idea. Whenever someone tries to interfere in the affairs of Team Rocket, Giovanni steps in and deals with these people before they can help. They're often taken in as slaves like us after that, or worse...." he trailed off.

Cody remained silent for a long time after that, letting the words sink in to Misty. She listened to the whole story with a piteous heart, and at the end could only murmur, "That is so sad."

"Yeah," Cody grimaced, feeling a swell of anger growing inside him, "but the worst part is that those damn Hypnodrones have a weird side-effect on their hosts. It speeds up their metabolism a few years after maturity kicks in, causing them to age rapidly. You saw how old my parents looked during lunch."

Misty was stunned. Was that elderly couple she met the result of the Hypnodrones' 'weird side-effect'? How could Giovanni do such a thing? "H-How long has it been?"

"Ten years, two months and sixteen days," he sighed. "I thought I was going to go crazy."

"Yeah, I get that a lot too with Ash." She winced at the inferior comparison.

Cody loosened up a bit. "Oh yeah? He doesn't seem so bad."

"Are you kidding me?" Misty started to get worked up. "He has an ego the size of a blimp, he's always showing off at how great a trainer he thinks he is, and - uhn! - he can never get enough to eat!"

"Sounds like you really like him." The ice was breaking.

"I do not!" she gasped half-playfully. "I've never felt that way about him!"

"Oh, so it's he who likes you, eh?" he teased.

"No! Stop saying that!" she giggled, giving him a shove on the arm. But Cody was ready and grabbed her by the hand, pulling her off the fence. However, Misty managed to trip him as he stepped back, and he went tumbling into the sprinklers, falling flat on his rear. Misty laughed out loud.

"Ha ha! I got you! I got you!" she trilled. "You thought you could.... No. Cody, NO!" It was too late. Cody grabbed her again and pulled her into the sprinklers. She stood there for a second, her slim figure being thoroughly soaked. Then she saw Cody making fun of her, and went after him again.

A little further down the path, Ash and the others were drying off from their shower, when Brock spotted something happening over by the house.

"Hey Ash, check it out!" he pointed.

Ash turned towards the house, and when he saw what was going on, his jaw almost hit the ground. Pikachu and Trixie followed their look and were both equally surprised.

"Oh, so you want to do it the hard way?" Cody laughed.

He wrapped his arms around Misty's waist and lifted her over by the pond. She was giggling hysterically, kicking out to free herself. Cody was about to toss her into the water, but Misty managed to catch him by the collar as she fell, and they both went toppling in together with a big splash. They were still laughing when they emerged on the surface. It slowly died down, and they stared at each other awkwardly with hair dripping in front of their eyes.

"All right, break it up! Break it up!" Ash yelled as he came running up to the pond. He helped Misty out of the water, and Brock did the same for Cody. "Are you okay?" Ash asked her anxiously.

"Sure. We were just messing about," Misty chuckled, brushing her wet hair aside.

Ash faced Cody, who had turned off the sprinklers and was busy wringing his shirt, and gave him a violent shove on the shoulder. "Hey! Just who do you think you are, farmer boy? I saw you throw Misty into that pond!"

Misty pulled Ash back on the elbow. "Ash! Don't be so rude! I told you we were just playing."

But Ash pulled away from her and released all his anger on Cody. "You think you're so great? Well, I betcha can't beat me in a pokémon battle! C'mon, let's have it all out! Just you and me in a one-on-one! 'Mon-o y 'mon-o!"

Before Misty could try and stop him again, Cody smiled enigmatically and said, "Okay, Ash. You want a pokémon battle? You're on."

Ash looked at him disdainfully, then turned and marched towards an open area with Pikachu where he could hold the battle. Cody was about to follow, but first he faced Misty with a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Misty. I needed that."

Misty felt all warm inside. "Anytime, Cody."

Ash called to them impatiently from the field, once again spoiling the moment, "C'mon! Pick up the pace! I want my battle!"

Misty sighed and walked down with Cody, Brock and Trixie towards the field. This was going to be a battle to remember.

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READ CHAPTER TWO TOMORROW!!

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It's cliffhanger time! Who is going to win the match between Ash and Cody? Will Ash's winning streak grant him another victory, or does Cody have an ace up his sleeve? And how will Misty's growing feelings towards Cody end? (Trust me, it's not how you think it's going to turn out. You'll definitely want to stick around for the ending.) Stay tuned, cause I'll have the next chapter edited and uploaded by tomorrow!

P.S. For interest's sake, Cody's name is taken from Capcom's re-release of Final Fight One on Gameboy Advance. And since it sounded similar to Rudy - another boy Misty had feelings for - I thought it would fit the bill here. George and Grace are taken from sci-fi author Isaac Asimov's - the guy who wrote "Bicentennial Man" - first (and arguably best) story "Robbie". Trixie is based on the female fox in Disney's "The Fox and the Hound" (and is also the name of my Vaporeon in Pokémon Gold), and the 'Motherwell' farm's name is taken from a town I used to stay in Scotland. As for Simon, well, I'll give you one guess....


	2. A Turn for the Worse

Hey, three reviews already! I would have been surprised to get away with just one. Anyway, we left off on the brink of a pokémon battle between Ash and Cody, and that's exactly where this chapter begins. I have to warn some of you that there are some 'disturbing' scenes in this chappie, so don't blame me if you have horrible nightmares later. Mwa ha ha! Sweet dreams! ^_^

Chapter 2

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A TURN FOR THE WORSE

Everyone was gathered in the bare grass field. Brock, Misty and Togepi were sitting on a rock near the edge, while Ash and Cody were standing in the centre at a fair distance from one another. Pikachu and Trixie remained loyally at their masters' feet.

Ash began the opening statement, "Okay, this is a straightforward one-on-one battle, farmer boy. Switching pokémon during the fight is forbidden!"

"Fine by me," Cody said confidently. "Trixie, are you ready to battle?" Trixie nodded and faced her opponent with a determined stare. "All right, Ash. Use your best pokémon," he coaxed. "We're up for a challenge!"

Ash's eyes narrowed. "All right, Pikachu, seek'em!"

But Pikachu didn't move.

Ash looked down at the mouse in confusion. "What's the matter, Pikachu?"

"Chu-Pi, Pikapi! Pi-Pika-Pi-Chu!" it cried pleadingly.

"Don't make you fight her?" Ash repeated. "Why not?"

Pikachu glanced at Trixie, who was waiting to start battling, then beckoned to its master to bend down. It raised itself up on its tiptoes and whispered something in his ear. Ash's eyes widened.

"_What_?!" he howled. "You're telling me you don't want to fight Trixie because -"

"Chu-Pika!" Pikachu cut him off before he accidentally spilled the beans in front of everyone. Then, giving its master the saddest puppy-dog-eyes possible, "Piiiiiiiiiiiiiii?"

Ash groaned audibly. He was in such a rage that ordinarily he would have forced even Pikachu into the arena, but he just couldn't say no to eyes like those. "Ohhhh, alright. Have it your way," he grumbled. "I'll use a different pokémon instead."

Pikachu sighed in relief, and Ash reached for a pokéball on his belt. He had had a lot of success with this one lately, and given the fact that his opponent was using a water type only strengthened his decision.

"Chikorita! I choose you!" He tossed the pokéball into the air and it split open, spilling out a bright light that materialised into a yellow animal seed.

"Chi-KO!" it cried. It landed a few yards away from Trixie and glared at her aggressively. This was another chance to show off its superiority to Pikachu.

"A grass type, eh?" Cody commented with mild surprise. "Okay, let's begin! Trixie, Water Gun now!"

Trixie crouched down, then thrust its body forwards, releasing a powerful jet of water towards Chikorita.

"Chikorita, dodge it!"

Chikorita ducked to one side, narrowly avoiding the jet which shot passed it. Ash ordered to retaliate with a Razor Leaf, but Trixie was ready and batted the projectiles away with her tail like baseballs. Chikorita followed up with a Vine Whip in an effort to overwhelm it with multiple attacks.

Cody shouted, "Trixie, use Mist!"

Trixie spun round and started to release a cloud of mist from the gills behind her ruff, quickly concealing her from view. Chikorita lost focus and its vines couldn't meet their target, losing themselves in the mist. Brock and Misty were watching all this happen in amazement. They had never seen a pokémon defend itself so well before.

"Cody's been holding back on us," Brock said, rubbing his chin. "Not only is he a great pokémon trainer, but Trixie's really experienced too. Just look at how she used Mist; normally Vaporeons don't learn that until they reach a very high level. Who knows what other advanced techniques Cody could have taught her."

Misty gave him a vague look, then observed the two opposing trainers. They both looked set to win this match, but Ash's determination was overshadowed by his rage. He gave his orders in anger, not in strategy. But at least his attitude seemed to psyche Chikorita into winning at all costs. Misty wasn't sure who she was betting on - her oldest friend or her newest one? The side she was prone to listening to told her she should vote for Cody, hoping he will remain victorious and show Ash that he's not as good as his ego professed; but another hidden side told her that she should have faith in Ash... for some reason.

Chikorita continued thrashing its vines about in the hazy mist in a futile attempt that it would strike Trixie at some point. But its naivety took its toll when Chikorita felt a searing pain at the end of its vines, and it was dragged into the mist itself. Ash gasped. He couldn't see his pokémon anymore, and so did not know what orders to give it. But Cody gazed into the cloud with a smug look and continued along with his plan of attack.

"Trixie, hold it with Bite!"

In a moment, Ash heard a lunging growl, then a high-pitched scream of pain. "Chikorita!" he cried in dismay.

The mist started to clear, and the trainers could distinguish the glistening figure of Trixie with her jaws locked on to Chikorita's leg. Everyone but Cody gasped.

"Now, Trixie," Cody commanded, "finish it off with Hydro Pump!"

Trixie released her grip, but combined her next attack before her adversary could escape. She struck the ground with tremendous force, and a shockwave of geysers shot up in front of her, knocking Chikorita into the air fifty feet away, where it landed heavily in a muddy puddle left over by the storm. Chikorita was defeated.

Brock and Misty came running onto the battlefield, arms flailing, and crowded round the winner, leaving Ash standing forlornly on the other side.

Brock was rambling on in fascinated praise, "That was amazing! What a move! You taught Trixie how to grapple her opponent so she could hit it with her strongest attacks!"

Misty was equally excited. "And that Mist thing was genius! What a brilliant tactic! I've never seen a trainer use a camouflage like that before!"

Cody knelt down and gave Trixie a congratulating pat on the head. "Of course. Camouflage is more important than people think. You can't hit what you can't see, and you can't beat what you can't hit," he said wisely. "And since Vaporeons spend most of their life underwater where there's little light, their eyesight has evolved so they can see straight through Mist attacks."

Outside the winner's circle, Ash was still coming to terms with the gravity of his defeat. He stared at the ground for a moment, then fell to his knees without seeming aware of the motion. "B-But.. I had the type advantage..." he uttered. He couldn't believe he lost - lost to that... that Hypnodrone _puppet_. This was his chance to show he was just as good, if not better, than Cody... and he blew it. He let Cody defeat him. No, Cody didn't just beat him, he crushed him, he totally obliterated him. Cody was a way better trainer than Ash, and he didn't even get a chance to get out and battle others as much as Ash did.

Elsewhere, Pikachu ran over to Chikorita, whom Ash seemed to have forgotten in his despair, and found it still lying in the pool of mud. Fortunately it was still conscious (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it if you think of the pain it's in). Pikachu lent it a paw, but Chikorita pulled away spitefully, too proud to let itself be helped by Pikachu. Right now it was feeling a bit like Ash - hurt and defeated.

Cody made his way through his fans and over to where Ash was still kneeling. He offered his hand to him. "Good fight, Ash. That's a very strong Chikorita you have," he commented. "But you need to control its composure under pressure. And yours."

"I don't need advice from you, farmer boy!" Ash retorted coldly, standing up without Cody's help. "I could've beaten you. You just got lucky."

Misty sighed. _Always the sore loser,_ she thought.

"Really?" Cody raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Then how come Trixie didn't even need to use her Acid Armor?"

"I..." Ash paused. He didn't know how to answer that one. It was hopeless. Cody was holding all the aces, and Ash was only making himself look like a fool in front of his friends. Finally, he gave up and walked off sulking to retrieve Chikorita. He met it limping towards him, although not seriously injured, with Pikachu tailing behind.

"Nice try, Chikorita," he said, his words belied by his tone of disappointment. "Take a rest."

He held out a pokéball and Chikorita was sucked inside by a red laser. Ash saw Pikachu was staring at him worriedly, and cast it a 'what are you looking at?' expression. He turned round and saw that Cody was continuing his teaching of water pokémon strategy to his friends, who were captivated with every lesson. Especially Misty.

Just then, someone came running onto the field looking slightly distressed. It was Mrs Fawnheart, and she was there to find out what all the noise was about.

"Cody, what on Earth was -" she stopped and realised that everyone was still soaking in their clothes from the milk and sprinklers. "Good Heavens! You're all wet! Cody, how could you leave the guests in this state?"

"Oh, sorry, mom," Cody grinned sheepishly. "We had an accident with the Milk Master and I thought we could rinse off in the sprinklers and..." his voice faded into a silent loss for a good excuse.

Mrs Fawnheart sighed and said, "Oh well, you kids better get changed in the house. Brock dear, I think I can lend you one of Simon's spare change of clothes."

"Sure. Thanks, Mrs Fawnheart," Brock responded.

"Ash, Misty, I think you two would fit better in Cody's clothes, if that's not a problem with you, Misty."

Misty's eyes lit up. "Why, of course not, Mrs Fawn-... Grace. I'd love to wear... I mean, that's very nice of you." She reddened slightly. How could she pass up a chance like this?

Mrs Fawnheart smiled. "What about you, Ash? Is that okay with you?"

Ash frowned and replied as politely as his manners allowed him to, "Actually, I'd prefer just to dry off with a towel. I'm fine as I am."

"Really? Okay, if that's what you want," replied Mrs Fawnheart, a bit surprised. "I think we have some beach towels in the basement."

As she began to lead the foursome and their pokémon back up towards the house, Misty watched Ash from the corner of her eye. She was worried for him just as much as Pikachu, and it was obvious that he and Cody weren't getting along very well. Somehow she felt responsible for the hostility. She remembered Ash's words before the fight broke out: "I saw you throw Misty into that pond!" It seemed that he was worried about her, and his reproach towards Cody was out of......

Wait! Misty stopped, suddenly hit by a thought; could it be that Ash was... jealous? Beverly Hills 90210-style? No, it couldn't be! Ash never felt that way about her in the first place. Misty didn't believe it. He was probably just a little steamed because she and Cody were having all the fun and Ash wasn't. Yeah, that was it. It's all about fun, not lo-... Misty froze and shook the thought out of her head. This was ridiculous! She refused to believe she was in that sort of predicament, or even _thinking_ about it. She was just friends with Ash and Cody. End of story.

"What's on your mind, Misty?" Cody asked, interrupting her thoughts. "You look distracted."

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing," Misty replied. "I was just thinking about... (pick something quick!) those big, cute Miltanks back at the barn. They're so adorable. And I think Pikachu liked them too," she smiled, nodding to Pikachu, who replied with an excited, "Pika!"

"Oh? You thought they were cute?" Cody said, intrigued. "Well maybe you and your friends would like to come down to the corral with me after you're changed and help me tag one of the newborn calves before dinner. If you feel up to it, that is." He gestured towards her arm bandage.

Misty glanced at her arm and rubbed it. "Ah, I'm fine... Ow!" She accidentally squeezed a sore spot, causing Cody to give her a slightly distressed look. "No, really, I'm fine. I'd love to help out," she insisted. "It's the least I could do."

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It was less than an hour later when Cody and his guests were reunited after a change of clothes and were on their way back down to the corral. The only person who was still wearing the same clothes, thus still being a little damp, was the stubborn Ash. Brock had changed into a pair of white long johns and denim overalls; and just for effect, he added a straw hat and chewed on a wheat strand while chattering, "Yessiree, we's all goin' down to that hoo-haw farm to slap them pigs and grease them tractors! Boy howdy! We're gonna have us a time!" Then Misty whacked him on the back of the head for being an utter wazzock.

Misty herself was a whole new person. Mrs Fawnheart had suggested that she move her ponytail to the back and make it curved, traditional farm-style. Ash hadn't seen Misty with her hair changed since her sisters asked her to let it drop for the mermaid role in the Cerulean City water show. She was also wearing a sky blue collared shirt and a pair of denims, plus Cody had offered her his best cowskin waistcoat. She looked like a real cowgirl, minus the hat. Togepi would probably have loved to see its 'mother' in this get-up, but it was still resting back in the farmhouse.

As they approached the corral, Ash's nose started to wrinkle. "Pee-yew! What's that stink?" He was obviously referring to the foul odour emanating from the dung piles. He'd hate having to trudge through a corral of that craptitude (craptitude?), and now he was beginning to regret having joined Cody and Misty out here. But still, he didn't want to leave them out of his sight.

Ash's complaints didn't stop until Cody finally said with some annoyance, "Ah, just breathe through your mouth." He was carrying a pail of supplies, one of which Brock noticed was an unused Hypnodrone. He remembered Cody telling them that everyone and every pokémon on the farm had to have a Hypnodrone implanted in them, which meant that this one must be intended for the newborn calf.

"Say Cody, can I take a look at that?" Brock pointed at the device.

Cody shook his head. "No, sorry. You have two minutes to insert one if you grab it and start flicking around with it. Giovanni's safety feature."

"What happens is you take too long?"

"It 'self-destructs', or more specifically it melts down into hot metal. If you're still trying to insert one into a Miltank when that happens, it can damage the pokémon's somatic nervous system, which leads to paralysis."

Brock swallowed hard.

They reached a relatively small section of the large, spacious corral, and everyone stepped through the gate. This part was muddier and smellier than the rest of the otherwise grassy corral; and except for a few Miltanks gathered in the far corner by the waterer, most of the area was empty.

"Welcome to the maternity pen," Cody announced. He pulled out a crude electronic pad from his back pocket and hit a few buttons. "All right, if we can draw off number ninety-nine, we can tag her calf. I think it's a bull. Oh..." he smiled, "almost forgot. Watch out for sixty-six. Add another six and you get a picture of her demeanour." Everyone missed the biblical allusion, but understood not to get in the way. "Okay, make a line behind me. There shouldn't be anything more than a twenty-foot gap. Trixie and I are going to try and draw off ninety-nine into the alley while you three isolate the calf. And don't let him get away! If the mother starts coming back, use your pokémon to keep her at bay. I'll tell you when to be worried."

The trainers were not fond of Cody's flippant way of putting these things, but they still followed his instructions. Once everyone was ready, Cody marched off in the direction of a pair of Miltanks lying alone near one of the pen corners. The smaller of the two raised its head as it sensed the trainers approaching and bellowed to its mother. Ninety-nine tapped the baby with her snout, silencing it. But when Cody and Trixie started to loop around the pokémon, the mother stood up and lowered her head aggressively. Then she started to kick up dirt and began to back up.

Cody smiled wryly, never taking his eyes off the mother. "It's good when they do that. They're trying to intimidate you. But you should still be careful."

Trixie tried coercing ninety-nine to back away, but the Miltank wasn't going to abandon her calf so easily, not even for the boss or his pet. Cody realised this was going to need a bit more persuasion, and he ordered Trixie to use her Water Gun. Trixie crouched and aimed a jet of water at the mother's feet. Ninety-nine took fright and scampered away at a distance, but then she got mad and started using her Rollout move towards Cody.

"Quick, get the calf!" he shouted to the trainers.

The trio crowded round the calf while they watched Cody try to fend off the angry Miltank. Trixie fired another Water Gun, but ninety-nine dodged it and continued on her collision course. Cody and Trixie jumped out of the way in the nick of time, but they both landed in some thick mud and got stuck.

"Ah! Dammit!" Cody cussed. "Trixie, get us out of here!"

Trixie quickly tried hosing down the mud to loosen themselves up, but ninety-nine was rolling back towards them and there was no way they would get out in time.

"Cody!" Misty cried.

It was Pikachu who leapt to the rescue and unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt on the Miltank. Ninety-nine took the full blow of the shock and was knocked out of its Rollout. Pikachu followed up with several more electrical attacks and drove the mother into the alley. Cody and Trixie subsequently managed to free themselves and dashed over to close the alley gate. He wiped his brow in relief and everyone ran over to make sure he was all right.

"Phew! Thanks, Pikachu," Cody said, giving the mouse a grateful pat on the head. "I would have been Miltank mush if it wasn't for your help."

"Pi-Pikachu!" it beamed, making a V sign with its paw.

Ash glared down at his pokémon. "Yes. Thanks, Pikachu," he said through his teeth.

Trixie trotted over to Pikachu and also extended it her thanks for saving her life by licking its cheek. This made Pikachu turn bright red.

"Are you all right?" Misty asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Cody answered reassuringly. "They're good pokémon, these Miltanks. But the mothers can be real bitches. Sometimes they act more like Tauros."

"So I noticed," Brock added. "Whatever happened to rounding up Miltanks with a Ponyta and lasso?"

Cody laughed, "Sorry, Brock. This is a farm, not a ranch. We don't do that sort of thing around here. We have to catch Miltanks the real way - on your feet." He wiped the mud off himself and walked back with the others to the now-solitary calf. It lowed in a small voice as they approached.

"Awww, he's so cute!" Misty cooed.

"Worth a little over 2000G nowadays," Cody said chattily.

Pikachu brushed past the trainers and its eyes widened with excitement as it came face-to-face with the baby Miltank. The Miltanks in the barn were cute, but this was the most adorable one of them all. They began to sniff each other out, then Pikachu started bouncing up and down with glee, excitedly crying its name over and over again. Everyone's heart melted.

"Looks like Pikachu's made a new friend," Misty smiled.

"I wouldn't get too attached just yet," Cody said. "I've still got to tag him." He looked over his shoulder. "Trixie, could you be a gopher for a second?" The others didn't know what he meant by that. "You can go'pher my pail. I left it on the third post from the end."

Trixie ran off and returned with the pail in her mouth in no time at all.

"Okay, let's get this boy inside so I can tag him." Cody pulled out a leash and tied it around the calf's neck. He led it and the trainers out the pen and into the nearby lean - the extension of the barn. The lean was something of a large shed attached to the barn, with nothing more than a few bales of hay and some heavy tools being the only noticeable features. Cody pulled the calf over to a hitching post and tied it up. It bellowed loudly. Ninety-nine answered from further down the corral.

"Right, let's give the boy a cute little earring," Cody said, pulling a blue gun-like object out the pail. It had an obvious crimping area, on which hung a yellow ID tag. He moved round the back and pressed it against the curved bone at the bottom of the calf's ear. Cody squeezed the trigger, and a loud crack sounded as the calf's ear cartilage broke, signalling the two pieces of the tag coming together. Misty felt sorry for the animal. It looked around with mild disinterest.

"Next, this is a bull, so we've got to sterilise him."

"What do you mean, 'sterilise'?" Ash asked sceptically.

"Take off the second part of his manhood. It's control measures. The grey pliers with the elastic band, if you please."

The boys grimaced at the thought and Misty stifled a giggle. But Cody was a dextrous boy; and after a simple task of moving the right parts to the right places, the deed was done.

Just then, Simon appeared through the connecting door to the barn. His overalls were covered with oil and his hands were filthy black. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, leaving a black streak instead.

"Hey Simon, finished with the Milk Master?" Cody asked.

"Aye, that damn thing's been acting up lately, but I managed to keep it together for now. How're you gettin' along with the youngin'?"

"Just about to begin the final part. Take Trixie with you when you go back up to the house, okay?"

Simon nodded and started to walk out the lean. "C'mon, Trixie, let's go."

Trixie left the pail with Cody and was about to follow Simon out. But first she cast Pikachu a final attractive smile for having saved her life, then turned and strode outside, waving her tail back and forth behind her. Pikachu could start to feel the butterflies mount in its stomach.

"What final part are you talking about?" Misty asked.

Cody sighed, "Hypnodronisation."

Hypnodronisation. The word brought back memories of Cody's sad tale explaining what it was.

He glanced around and pointed to a stack of bales behind a fence. "There. I want everyone to back up to those bales over there. And Misty, don't coming running when this little guy starts bellowing. I don't need anyone getting hurt on my watch," he said in a grim tone.

The trainers just stood there for a moment, sensing something very bad was about to happen.

"Cody..." Misty began.

"I'm sorry, Misty. This has to be done," he said gravely. "Now please, get going."

The trainers hopped over the fence as Cody pulled out a Hypnodrone from the pail. He was about to begin the procedure when he realised that Pikachu was still there, snuggling comfortably against the animal's snout.

"Piiikaaa..." it sighed happily, nuzzling its head against its new friend's soft fur.

Cody frowned. "Come on, Pikachu, get behind the lines."

Pikachu eventually managed to pull itself away, but asked Cody in pokétalk if it could play with the calf afterwards.

"Oh... yeah, sure. You can play all you want," Cody stumbled over the words, and prompted Pikachu to join its friends behind the fence. Once he made sure there was no one else in the way, he uncoupled the calf from the hitching post and tied it to the floor on its side instead, giving it less room to move. The trainers exchanged worried looks. Finally, Cody held out the Hypnodrone and removed the safety.

It sounded, "T-minus two minutes to self-destruct..."

Cody lined up, then stabbed the needle-like end into the calf's neck. He took a deep breath and pressed a button on it. The Hypnodrone began to make mechanical grindings as it burrowed into the skin. The calf screamed at the top of its lungs in agony as the insect-like implant tried to take over. Everyone looked away. The Hypnodrone burrowed deeper, spreading its nodes to every major nerve centre and one straight to the heart. Cody fought against the calf's agitation and helped guide the Hypnodrone into place, prodding it this way and that. Brock leaned on the fence and stared aggressively out into space as the calf broke into violent spasms. It screamed again, a blood-curling scream. For an instant it was insane. It kicked out wildly, blood seeping out from the contours of the Hypnodrone. The device was drilling straight to the calf's spinal column. It screamed and screamed. Misty covered her face with her hands, but soon couldn't stop herself from pulling them away. Ash saw the desperate look in the calf's eyes and took a step to help the poor animal, but stepped back just as quickly. Pikachu watched intensely, leaning over the lower part of the fence.

"Chaaa!" it cried. The little mouse looked like it was going to hurl.

"Don't look, Pikachu," Ash said sadly.

Pikachu looked on anyway, unable to tear its eyes away from the horrific scene. The calf screamed again - shrill and shriller until it keened with the terror of a lost soul and filled the room with the piercingness of itself. Misty started to cry in pity for the poor, helpless creature. It lasted for an eternity.

Suddenly it stopped.

Misty wiped the tears away from her eyes and looked over to see Cody petting the downed calf. It was now completely paralysed - its pink-white tongue shot out stiffly. Cody pulled out his pad, hit a few buttons, and cussed under his breath. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old silver calibre revolver. Taking a step back, he shot the Miltank at point blank. It felt no more pain.

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Everyone was visibly depressed after the afternoon's events. They ate in silence, with the loud ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner and the odd tinkling of the cutlery in the soup bowls being the only audible sounds. Even Ash was seriously bummed, wearing a sullen frown all throughout dinner. The pokémon at the foot of the table were quiet too after having learned what had happened, except for Togepi, now awake, who was unfamiliar with the concept of death.

Pikachu was traumatised. It was mentally incapable of eating any meat in its food, as flashbacks of the mutilation of that screaming calf haunted it every time it tried, causing it to freeze and tremble involuntarily. Trixie tried to cheer the mouse up with a gentle rub on the cheek, but Pikachu didn't even feel it - lost in an endless nightmare of screams of pain and terror.

Very little was said until Cody finally broke the silence, "Well... at least he won't have to live as a slave."

Misty slammed her fist on the table, rattling the silverware. "_How can you say that?! You robbed that calf of everything!!_"

Cody's expression saddened and he hung his head. Misty backed down immediately with a cringe. It was unfair of her to accuse Cody of killing that Miltank. He didn't want it to die any more than she did, and heaven knows he tried his very best to keep it alive. The shock of the incident had made her edgy.

"I-I'm sorry, Cody. I didn't mean -"

"No, no, you're right," he said remorsefully, "I could have saved that calf, but I didn't. I totally screwed up."

Among all the miserable faces around the table, Mr Fawnheart was the only one to carry an air of bitter disappointment - disappointment towards his son for losing another Miltank. "How long did it take, son?" he asked grimly.

"Two minutes, eight seconds," Cody answered, disheartened. "I just couldn't guide the Hypnodrone into place in time. I really hate this job."

"You need more practice," the father said harshly. "When the time comes, I want you to Hypnodronise the next calf too. And I'll be there to supervise."

"But pop -"

"No buts! Do as y'er told."

Despite her better judgement to argue with the host, Misty felt she needed to defend Cody somehow. "Sir, we were all there when Cody operated on that calf. We all saw he did everything he could to save it. It's not his fault it's dead. Even Pikachu knows that, right Pikachu?..... Pikachu....? Hey, Pikachu.....!"

But Pikachu wasn't listening. Its mind was still trapped in turmoil. It was one of those moments where time slowed down to a crawl, and only the sound of your own breathing and heartbeat echoed in your ears. Pikachu remembered everything that happened, every single detail. It remembered how that poor Miltank's screams pierced through to its very soul; it remembered the pool of blood that trickled out of the calf's ruptured skull when Cody shot it; but worst of all, it remembered the look in that calf's eyes during and after its torture - that harrowing look of unimaginable fear and suffering.

Pikachu's eyes dropped down to its food, and there - horror! - lying lopsided in the bowl was the decapitated head of that dead calf, its eyes glowing red and blood dripping in between its teeth.

"How's 'bout some more minced beef?" it cackled in a rasped, devil's voice.

Pikachu screamed in sheer terror and quickly retreated to a corner of the room.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, leaping out of his chair to help and consequently sending it crashing backwards. "Pikachu, what's wrong?"

Pikachu was scared stiff. Its eyes were round with horror, locked steadfastly on the bloodied head in the food bowl. Its heart was racing. Pikachu's face had drained of colour and its breathing had turned into rapid wheezes. It couldn't move a muscle, only tremble uncontrollably. Pikachu's mind was beyond panic; it was terrified, petrified, incapable of thinking. Only infinite fear overwhelmed it.

"Pikachu, look at me! LOOK AT ME!" Ash grabbed Pikachu by the arms.

Pikachu partially snapped out of its nightmare. It glanced at its master, then back at the food bowl. The head was gone. Ash moved even closer and rubbed Pikachu's cheeks to try and calm it down. He wiped the cold sweat from its forehead and forced it to look into his eyes. When Pikachu realised that Ash was there with it, its muscles loosened and its heart started to relax. And there, once the vision had passed, it threw itself on Ash's shoulder and broke down in tears.

"Cha-a-a-a-a-a..." it cried trembling. It sobbed long and hard - warm tears dampening Ash's shirt. Its feelings became too deep for words. Pikachu was shaking; it was frightened - frightened and devastated. A part of it had died with that Miltank, a part that belonged to its heart. Everyone felt sorry for the poor thing, even the hardheaded Chikorita.

"Shhh, it's over now. It's over," Ash murmured softly. He picked up the weeping mouse and cradled it in his arms, stroking its head tenderly. "I'd better put Pikachu to bed," he said to the others, depressed. "It's had a hard day."

He turned and left for his room upstairs, while Trixie watched in sadness as Pikachu's shivering body disappeared from sight. She turned towards Cody and asked him something in pokétalk that only he could understand.

"Huh? Oh, sure... you can stay with Pikachu tonight if you want," he replied absently.

As Trixie left the dining room, Misty noticed the metallic glimmer of a Hypnodrone at the base of her ruff. The poor fox had to have one implanted too. She must have suffered just as badly as that calf did... as well as the Fawnhearts.

Misty sighed. She hoped that Pikachu would be all right. It was tragic to see it make a new friend it cared about so much, only for that friend to be lost to Team Rocket's diabolical instruments.

Cody buried his head in his hands. "This is all my fault," he moaned.

Misty rubbed him on the back. "Don't worry about it, Cody. I'm sure Pikachu will be okay," she said, a little unsure of her own words. "And now that I think about it, there's something else I would like to discuss with you and your family."

"What's that?"

Misty paused. This was a critical step she was taking. And despite Cody's warnings, she knew this was something she had to do:

"We want to help free you from Team Rocket."

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READ CHAPTER THREE TOMORROW!!

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I know - poor Pikachu. Yes, it's sad what happened to it. Now you can see why this fic is partly a drama. If you want to find out if Pikachu will recover from its trauma, just stick around 'cause I'll have the next chapter edited and uploaded by tomorrow. Other questions you might ask yourselves are how will it all end between Cody and Misty? What about Ash and Cody? Or even Pikachu and Trixie? Is Misty really going to help free Cody from Team Rocket? Find out tomorrow......


	3. Questions and Answers

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Thanks for your continuing reviews, everyone. Action is finally taken upon in this chapter to try and free the Fawnhearts from Team Rocket. But how can they get past the sensors? And what will happen with Pikachu's trauma? A lot of emotional arguments will ensue. Read on…

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Chapter 3

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

There was a sudden silence around the table as everyone looked at each other in surprise. Even Brock and the pokémon were taken aback by Misty's unexpected statement. They certainly weren't aware that she wanted to help free the Fawnhearts from Team Rocket. But in any case, she seemed strongly determined about her decision.

Eventually Mr Fawnheart swallowed his spoonful of soup and said, "You? Help free us from Team Rocket's slave labour? Huh! And why would you want to do that, girl? You'd be risking your neck to go against Team Rocket."

"We've done it before and we can do it again," Misty said confidently. "It's wrong for you to live in your own home as slaves. We must put a stop to this."

Brock stood up. "Misty's right. We have to get you out of here so you can seek help from the police. Then they can shut down Giovanni's operations for good," he said equally determined. He was finally getting behind Misty.

Cody looked worried. "But Misty, I told you what happens to people who mess with Giovanni. I don't want to see that happen to you too."

"It's not going to happen, Cody. All of us are going to make it out okay. Everything's going to be fine," she told him. "Besides, I can't just leave you here as prisoners. I know we can get set you free one way or another."

Brock nodded in agreement and turned towards the parents. "Can't you phone the police?"

"Ha! Definitely not," Mr Fawnheart replied at once. "Team Rocket replaced our telephone with one of their own wee 'uns and rigged the lines so that we can only contact members of Team Rocket. We have no other ways of reaching the outside world."

"Then we'll go to the authorities ourselves."

"Oh aye?" Mr Fawnheart raised an eyebrow in amusement as if he'd heard the same suggestion repeated many times before. "You'll just go to town and tell everyone about our predicament? You'll never make it that far. Believe me, it's been tried before. Team Rocket has eyes and ears all o'er the shop." He cocked his spoon at them, similar to what he liked doing with his fork. "And even if you did make it to the police, Giovanni has ways of covering his tracks. He'll erase you and all records of your actions before a single officer could be sent here. I don't suppose I need to tell you youngin's what that means."

Mrs Fawnheart glowered at her husband. "Please, George, we don't need your threats!" She tried to regain her composure, then her wrinkles softened and she looked at Misty sympathetically. "I'm afraid it's no use, dear. Others before you have tried with no success. It's easy for Giovanni to catch on to us and stop us escaping from Team Rocket, since he can always find us here."

"That's probably because he expects you to be here," Misty noted, "which is why we have got to get you off this farm until Giovanni can be stopped."

"That's right," Brock said. "You can testify against him, but only if you manage to stay hidden from him in the meantime."

Now it was Simon's turn to argue in place of his father. "You want to try and bust us out of our own farm now? That's even more looney! We can't get past the fence because of them damned sensors. You know that."

"There has to be a way. If the alarm trips when you try to take out the sensors, then maybe we can try and re-route them without causing a break in security - create a gap of some kind for you to get out."

"Impossible!" Simon countered. "We don't have the tools for that kind of wizz-bang operation. D'you even know how the sensors work?"

"Well... no," Brock admitted. "But if you show us, we could try and figure something out."

Cody had listened to everyone voice their opinions with mixed feelings. On one hand he didn't want Misty to put herself in such a great danger for his sake. But on the other he felt that he should give the trainers a chance. After all, he so desperately wanted to be free, and they did save him back at the maternity pen. Finally, he made his decision and looked at his mother. "I guess it couldn't do any harm. Honestly, if they think they can help us out, we should at least let them try. They already saved my butt from ninety-nine at the pen."

Mrs Fawnheart glanced over the three expressions of appeal and sighed, "Ohhh... all right. I suppose you can have a look around. But not tonight. It's too late for that."

"That's fine," Cody said. "I'll give them full tour tomorrow. Thanks mom."

"Yeah! Thanks, Mrs Fawnheart," Misty and Brock thanked her in turn enthusiastically, then exchanged high fives.

Mrs Fawnheart smiled warmly and stood up. "Well, that's enough for tonight. You kids are excused. I'll clean up here."

The trainers piled up their bowls on the table and began to make their way upstairs under the soft, wrinkled eyes of Mrs Fawnheart. "They've got a lot of spirit, those kids," she said to her husband.

"Hmph! Young whippersnappers," Mr Fawnheart snorted. "They don't know what they're committin' themselves to."

"Maybe, maybe not. But they sure have their hearts set on helping us out. Please, George, give them a chance."

Mr Fawnheart looked away and groaned to himself. He never liked admitting defeat to his wife; and when she eventually left for the kitchen, he muttered something under his breath, too low to be heard.

Later upstairs, Brock was brushing his teeth in the bathroom with Misty. They all had been given rooms, and Ash was already in his, watching over Pikachu with Trixie in the dark. Brock's bed was next to Ash's, but due to space limitations, Cody had offered Misty to sleep in his room. (in a separate bed, you pervs!)

Misty rinsed her mouth and looked at her arm again. There was a big red mark where the bandage had been after she took it off in the shower. It was still a bit sore and hard to the touch, but it looked like it would be fine in another day or two.

Misty sighed to herself. She knew that Ash was willing to stay here on her behalf, but it was causing serious problems between him and Cody. She felt as if she was the source of all the conflicts. Should she just leave right away before Ash went and did something stupid?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Brock asked, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" He rinsed his mouth. "Breaking these guys out, I mean."

"Course I'm sure. It's only Team Rocket after all," Misty replied insouciantly. "It shouldn't be too much trouble."

Brock had known Misty for almost as long as Ash. And if there was one thing he knew, it was that when Misty put her mind to something, he could be sure she would go all the way. Sometimes she seemed almost as stubborn as Ash. Those two were more alike than they imagined.

"Great," he finally said, reaching for a towel, "now all we have to do is tell Ash."

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All was quiet that night. It was almost pitch black inside the house, with only a cluster of moonbeams shining pale rays of light into the darkened house. The dining room was tidy and the bowls were neatly stacked inside the cabinets, just the way Mrs Fawnheart liked them. The old grandfather clock's rhythmic ticking seemed to ease the cold loneliness in the halls, then the sudden chimes of midnight shattered the silence.

Outside, the rest of the farm had gone to sleep. The Miltanks had gathered in a group under a tree at the southernmost end, keeping as far away as possible from the noisy chirping of crickets in the northern fields. They all appeared to be resting soundly, until one of the calves raised its head when it noticed a light go on inside the house.

A dark shadow slid into the cross-shaped silhouette of the lighted window, and it reached for the telephone receiver. It picked up the phone and dialled a private number, someone who few people dared to call. The other end rang a few times, then came the clicking sound of the receiver being picked off the hook, followed by a deep and authoritative, but somewhat tired, voice.

"Hello?"

"Sir, this is Hypnodrone unit Fawnheart #0391 of the agriculture division," the shadow identified itself. "Sorry for ringin' you up at this hour. I know y'er a busy man and don't like to be disturbed and all, but I have some news I know you'll be pleased to hear. Now you're a businessman, and I wish to make a business proposal with you."

The other end was silent for a moment, then the voice spoke, "Go on."

"I know what's been happenin' in the other divisions, and I know that there's been a constant setback in your prime section. Well I have here the source of the problem," it said, glancing around to make sure no one was coming, "and I'll be willing to give it to you for a price."

"An arrogant bargaining posture for a slave," the voice sneered. "This information must be invaluable, otherwise you wouldn't risk wasting my time."

The shadow refused to lose its nerve. "Oh aye, it is. And if you meet me here, you can get y'er hands on the problem, and I can make sure that my demands are met." It paused and cast another glance around. This was the moment of truth. It had been waiting for this opportunity for years, and it wasn't going to let anything stand in its way. "Now here's the deal....."

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It was early next morning when Cody and Misty were having their stroll around the premises, occasionally stopping off at key areas of the farm and exchanging ideas. Misty was wearing her regular yellow shirt and blue shorts now that they were dry. Brock also had his usual clothes on, but he was still back inside where he had offered to help Mrs Fawnheart around the house, shamelessly donning his skimpy, pink apron. For some reason he could never resist doing housework.

Ash wasn't with them either. Misty assumed he was still in his room with Pikachu, although she didn't want to check. She felt that maybe she should leave them alone for a while longer after what's been happening lately. She hadn't told them about what she and Brock were planning either. She was going to wait until after she had inspected the security system with Cody, so that she might have something more concrete to tell him.

They passed round the Miltank maternity pen where Misty remembered about yesterday's incident. She glanced into the lean through the corner of her eye and spotted Simon working inside. He was busy pouring sawdust on the spot where the calf's blood had been running. The calf itself had already been taken away by Cody yesterday afternoon. He had chosen to do that without the trainers' help. He felt that they had seen enough already.

Cody noticed Misty's uneasiness around the place and decided to proceed with his explanation of the farm's security system. "There are two hundred and fifty-one sensors buried underneath the farmland's surrounding fence," he began, drawing Misty's attention. "They're linked together by a flexible power cable and require a powerful 3000V jolt of electricity to power them all. We would normally try to bypass the sensors with an alternate power source, but we can't generate 3000V of electricity with our shoddy equipment. And even if we could, Team Rocket automatically cuts off our power supply if they detect us trying to draw that much energy."

"What about the tractor?" Misty suggested. "That doesn't run off the farm's power supply."

"Nah. The tractor uses an old diesel engine. It doesn't have enough electricity to power a vacuum cleaner. Besides, even if we did have an independent machine that could generate 3000V, the sensors operate on distinct bursts of electricity every two seconds. A continuous current from attempts at tampering would trip the alarm, and nothing short of the power regulator at the Team Rocket base, which is controlling our energy supply, can deliver specific two-second bursts without blowing a fuse. It would be like trying to switch a power plant on and off like a light bulb.

"And there's a problem with getting to the sensors in the first place. Any hope of bypassing the system would have to be done from sensor 1, which is where the power source is first delivered."

"Okay, so where is it?" Misty asked.

Cody turned around and pointed across the wheat field in the distance at the stream running by the fence. "Over there."

"It's in the water?" Misty said, surprised.

"Not in it, but close enough. It's below a plate of granite just underneath the stream. It didn't always used to be there. Three years ago an earthquake hit this place, and sensor 1 slipped out of position and was knocked under that thick, vast granite plate. Somehow it still managed to stay functional with the others, but its new position prevented us from ever reaching it. We can't dig to where it is now."

"But Onix can!" Misty said.

Cody looked at her curiously. "What?"

"Brock has an Onix, didn't you know? It can dig through _anything_! We can reach that sensor easily with Brock's help."

There was a sparkle of hope in Cody's eyes. "Hey, yeah! I forgot Brock had rock pokémon with him. We never had a chance to use pokémon to dig before. Oh..." he paused uncertainly, "but there's still a problem. The stream bed might collapse and flood them in if we try digging underneath it. I don't think rock pokémon will last long down there if that happens."

"Well, can't you dam off the area until the job's done?"

Cody shook his head. "No, that could flood the farmland. And the crops after the dam will be cut off from the water supply. We can't allow that to happen. Digging an oxbow is a bad idea too, 'cause that'll cut into the wheat field. Pop won't be too happy about that. What we need to do is block off a gap in the stream over the sensor and pump the water from one side to the other continuously."

"Yeah! Then that will leave us with a clear shot at the granite for Onix. I'm sure that if Trixie and my water pokémon team up, they can keep the water running passed the gap."

"Okay, but what about a power source? We're still 3000V short, and there's nothing around here that can generate that kind of....." suddenly he stopped, hit by a brainstorm. Misty saw it too in his eyes, and they looked at each other for a moment excitedly.

"Pikachu!" they cried simultaneously.

Misty clasped her hands together in glee. "That's right! We can use Pikachu as a generator. It can come up with the 3000V we need, _and_ it can control its energy for timed bursts better than any machine. If we do that, then we can bypass the system like you said and get you out of here!"

This was like music to Cody's ears. Using his guests' pokémon to help them out was a great idea. This kind of opportunity has never cropped up before, not with any of the previous visitors they've received. But this time they might have a real chance of escaping from their farm, then they can focus on exposing Giovanni's syndicate. He has been waiting for this moment for so long - a chance to finally see the outside world he had long forgotten.

"Oh, this is wonderful news, Misty. I have to go tell my family. I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear about this," he said enthusiastically. "I can't thank you enough."

"Sounds like you just needed the right pokémon," Misty smiled.

"No," Cody smiled back, "I just needed you."

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"You did WHAT?" Ash howled.

"I've decided to help these nice people out," Misty repeated. "No need to get upset over it." She innocently cupped her hands behind her back. Maybe it _was_ a little early to break the news to Ash. He was still kind of grumpy - a trait Misty often sees in him whenever he's losing - and their quiet afternoon stroll around the farmland together along with Togepi in Misty's arms didn't seem to be lifting the mood. Misty could tell his thoughts were still dwindling on Cody's defeat over him... on many levels, effectively.

"And when did you decide this?" Ash asked crossly, folding his arms.

"Last night. During dinner." She sat down on a bench underneath a willow tree and put Togepi down beside her. She looked away from Ash's scornful stare and turned towards the nearby small pond where Pikachu and Trixie could be seen. Trixie was enjoying her afternoon swim among the lilies, cooling off from the hot afternoon sun. She tried to amuse Pikachu with her aquatic dances and encouraged it to join in. But Pikachu just looked down sorrowfully and batted the water with little passion. Its face was very pale and glum. It hadn't slept a wink last night - plagued by constant nightmares of the incident in the lean - leaving it tired and lifeless.

"Misty, you can't just go and commit yourself to something like this on your own," Ash said angrily. "I mean, what about me? Didn't you even think about talking this through with your friends first?"

Misty frowned in annoyance. "You were... 'busy'. And Brock already knows. We talked it over with him too last night."

"Oh-ho, so you talked it over with Brock and not me?" Ash crowed. "Well I'm going to have a word with him too." He began to storm off towards the farmhouse.

"He's not in the house," Misty called after him. "You can't talk to him right now. He's out checking some more security specs he got from Cody."

Ash extended his arms and looked up at the sky. "Oh, Cody! Cody! Everywhere it's Cody!"

Misty's frown grew fiercer and she rose from her seat, marching up to Ash. "So that's what this is all about isn't it? You're acting like a... a _jerk_ because of Cody, aren't you? What have you got against him anyway?"

"Misty, he's a puppet, for cryin' out loud! He's got that weird thing on the back of his head that makes him do anything Team Rocket want him to do. You can't trust him!"

"Ash, don't lie to me," Misty rebuked. "That's not what's bothering you. What have you _really_ got against Cody?" She was sure she knew the answer to that one already, but she wanted to drive it out of him.

"Well, he's... he's..." Ash struggled to come up with the right word from his limited vocabulary, "he's a _twip_!"

"He's a what?"

"A twip! I mean, the guy acts like Mr Perfect all the time - like he thinks he can do anything. And you're encouraging him with the way you... you..." he made vague hand gestures, "... do things with him."

Misty placed her hands on her hips. "Cody is a kind and wonderful person, Ash Ketchum," she said sternly, "and what I do with him is none of your business."

"What, like your little plan to break him out of here? Fine! If it's none of my business, then why tell me about it?"

He had her there. Misty sighed, "Because I can't do this without you."

"Why not?" Ash demanded.

Misty looked down and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well... because we need Pikachu for the job. I know Pikachu will listen to me, but I knew I had to ask you first."

Ash breathed deeply and stared at her with a strong frown of discontent. He cast a look towards Pikachu, its back turned to him, and watched it lay down on the bank. It was out of earshot, and so was not aware of the argument he and Misty were having. He watched it gaze out into the pond and slowly become entranced in Trixie's dolphin leaps, kicking up trinklets of water that sparkled in the sun. Ironically, his pokémon seemed to be getting along with that of the person he resents. But as far as Ash was concerned, that was as far as the relationship would go.

"No," he said in a low voice. "No, I won't put Pikachu on the line for Cody. That's final." He turned and began walking towards the house again.

Misty started after him. "But Ash, we can't -"

"_What!?_" he suddenly spun round and faced her. "_You can't what!? Help the guy I hate!? Put Pikachu in danger!? Just who do you think you are!?_" His voice rose to a ferocious level and his eyes began to take on that glassy shine of distress. Then his voice became more desperate and cracked as he spoke. "We've been friends for a long time, Misty, and I thought we were going to stay that way forever. I have a vision, you know, a vision of us journeying the world on an exciting and endless adventure. But when I see you and Cody together, I feel like I have one less friend to share that with. You already seem prepared to give everything for this guy. Everything! And you're starting to forget about us - what we mean to each other. Don't you see? You can't just leap into danger for someone who's still a part of Team Rocket and then risk your friends lives too!"

"But that's what friends are for!" Misty shouted. Her eyes were starting to well up. It was no use trying to hide the fact that she was getting emotional over this, but at least she tried to compensate for it with her anger. "Friends are there to support each other in times of need! They're there to help each other out! But since you're keeping Pikachu to yourself, you obviously don't know the meaning of that! So go ahead! Isolate yourself! You're only pushing yourself further away from the friends you want to be with!"

Misty turned and marched over to pick up Togepi, who was watching them worriedly. With her back turned to Ash, she brushed away a tear from her eye, then started back towards the farmhouse in bitter anger and sadness. She didn't even look at him as she walked past.

"Hey!" he called after her. Misty stopped for a moment, but did not turn around to face him. Ash kept his eyes fixed on her. "My vision is slipping away and you're worried about a farmer."

And there Misty turned and looked straight at him. "Your friends are slipping away and you're worried about a vision."

And with that, she turned again and walked back up towards the house. And all Ash could do was watch her leave.

Cody could easily tell when Misty flounced onto the porch looking boiling mad that her request had not been taken well. He had been sitting there on the rocking chair outside for some time, watching the two trainers from afar. But he couldn't make out exactly what was going on between them by the willow tree; and he wasn't so nosey as to go fetch the binoculars and find out. He didn't say anything until Misty slumped down on the chair next to him and let out a deep groan.

"It went that well, huh?" he said.

"Oh, he's impossible!" Misty sniffed back a tear. "He won't let us use Pikachu. He can be so stubborn! Whenever things don't go his way, he just sits there and sulks, wanting everyone to feel sorry for him. He's such a baby!" Misty wished she had said that to Ash's face.

Cody looked down and sighed. A moment's silence passed as he contemplated the problem this created. Without Pikachu, he wouldn't be able to bypass the sensors' security system, and that would mean he would never be able to leave his own farm. Eventually he managed to smile weakly and placed his hand on Misty's. "That's okay. You tried your best."

Misty looked into his tender eyes, feeling totally helpless. She couldn't just abandon him here like this. The thought of walking out of the farm leaving his family as prisoners made her feel awful, but there was nothing more she could do. "I'm so sorry, Cody," she said in despair. "If only that idiot Ash wasn't so hard-headed we wouldn't be stuck now. I wish it didn't have to end this way."

"It doesn't," he said. "There's still something we can do."

"What's that?"

Cody looked out towards the willow tree, then back at Misty. "I'm going to try and talk to Ash."

"You?" she said in surprise. "But you're the reason why Ash doesn't want to help."

"Exactly. So I'm the only one who can talk him into trusting me," he told her. "I know we haven't been getting along very well. There's no use denying that. But if our plan is going to work, I need to convince him that I'm a good guy. It can't hurt to try."

Misty looked at Cody with some intrigue, yet couldn't help but admire his decision. "Well, if you say so," and she let out a shy grin.

Cody smiled at her. "Don't worry, Misty. It's like you said: everything's going to be fine."

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Ash's mood hadn't changed when he heard the sound of footsteps coming his way. He was sitting down on the bench where Misty had been, back slouched forwards, elbows resting on his knees, and with the same sullen frown he had worn during dinner yesterday. From the broken shadow of the willow tree, he had his eyes fixed on his little Pikachu resting on the bank. The poor thing was still exhausted from a sleepless night and ultimately couldn't keep itself awake any longer for fear of more nightmares. It drifted into deep sleep, not noticing the stranger arriving. Ash didn't even bother to turn his head to see who was coming, but when he saw Trixie jump out of the pond and run up to the person, he knew exactly who it was.

"Leave me alone, farmer boy," Ash muttered dejectedly.

"Ash, we need to talk," Cody said calmly, stepping up to him.

"I have nothing to say to you. Now leave me alone," he replied coldly.

But Cody tried again. "Look Ash, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Really? Now what foot was that? Ohhh, I get it!" he grinned cynically at him. "It was the one you used to rub my head in the mud to make room for your adoring fans."

"Please, Ash," Cody insisted, "will you let me talk to you or not?"

"Huh! I don't know. After how I've seen that works on Misty, I'm afraid I might become attracted to you too."

Ash was taking on a very caustic tone. After the events that had driven him to his wit's end, it seemed that a final attempt at sarcasm was the only way to show he was still cleverer than Cody.

Cody frowned. "C'mon, don't be like this. I want you to tell me truthfully what the problem is."

Suddenly Ash spun and looked at him furiously. "_Oh, so you haven't figured it out!?_" he replied in a high voice. "Gee, I really don't know either! Oh! Could it be because you robbed me of my friends, humiliated me in battle, and scared Pikachu to death!?_ Ding ding ding! _Let's see what they've won, folks! Well, for pokémon trainers Brock and Misty, after falling for their new farmer friend's sorry, little situation, it's a lifetime of slavery in Team Rocket's exotic department of pokémon waste disposal!! That's right! And for Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, we have a special prize lined up for him today! Yes, it's an eternal holiday in the land of the fairies after repeatedly beating himself over the head with a toilet seat for even coming to this nasty, wretched prison of a farm!! Yaaay!! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! And tune in next time to the Fawnheart Family's Foolish Fight For Freedoooom!!!"

A long silence ensued after that where Ash was left gasping for breath. But Cody refused to let himself be put off with such ghastly, frenetic sarcasm. He and Trixie moved closer and sat down on the bench beside Ash. The latter shuffled away resentfully and rested his chin in the palm of one hand, refusing to face the farmer.

Cody said, "Ash, I believe I owe you an apology for all the trouble I've caused you. I don't deny that I overstepped my boundaries earlier; I guess I kind of got carried away. It's my fault we ended up like this and for that I'm sorry. If you don't want to make peace, I can understand. But if you don't want to do it for me, please... do it for Misty. She's having such a hard time dealing with what's going on, and I know she'll feel much better if we all worked as a team and got out of this place altogether."

Ash stared down at the ground for a moment after listening to Cody's words, then slowly he turned around and looked at him. Cody's face was calm and unreproachful, and Trixie was sitting loyally at his side like man's best friend. He was selflessly speaking with all best intentions, and it did help ease the grudge Ash had against him.

"Listen," Ash said, "I can forgive you for the stress, I can forgive you for the pain, and I can forgive you for the humiliation. But if there's one thing I can't forgive, it's when another person hurts someone close to me."

"What do you mean?" Cody asked.

Ash looked ahead and beckoned towards the mentally traumatised Pikachu, still collapsed on the grass from exhaustion.

"Oh... right," Cody said grimly.

Ash continued, "Yesterday, a little mouse was crushed because you couldn't do your job. That's something I won't forget. Now you may feel sorry for the pain you've caused, but it won't change what you've done. You've hurt Pikachu, and in doing so you've hurt me. And I won't stand for that any longer."

Cody didn't like the sound of where this was going. "What are you saying?"

Ash stood up. "I'm leaving this place. Tonight, me, Pikachu, Brock and Misty are all going to continue our journey and head for the next city as usual. I appreciate you treating Misty's arm when she fell, but she's had enough time to heal and it's time for us to get going. I'd rather put this farm behind me." He looked at Pikachu again. "Too many bad memories..."

Cody sighed and looked at Ash in disappointment - the same look his father gave him last night. "Ash, leaving won't solve anything. Pikachu will still be like this, my family will still be trapped here, and... it might make matters worse with Misty. The problems will still be there," he told him. "Now I can't force you to stay, but I'm asking you to think this through. Sooner or later you'll have to make a decision. Do you want to face your problems or run away from them?"

Before either of them could say a word again, they were suddenly interrupted by what sounded like a telephone ringing. For a second Ash thought he was hearing things, but indeed there was a telephone ringing somewhere out in this grassy vastness, and it was coming from a cabin at the corner of a nearby field that Ash mistook for an outdoor toilet. In actual fact, it was a sort of telephone cabin used for communicating over the farmland's great distance.

"Excuse me," Cody said, then walked up to the cabin. He opened the hatch on the top half, revealing a radio device hidden inside, and lifted the receiver to his ear. "Yeah, what's up?"

It was Mr Fawheart on the line. "Son, I need your help down at the pen right away. One of the Miltanks is having trouble calving. It looks like it's goin' to need pulled."

"I'll be there in a second," Cody said as he was just about to hang up.

"No, wait! Y'er goin' to have to do this without me. Simon and I have to go to the platform right now for the next shipment. We can't afford to miss this one. It looks like y'er on your own, son."

Cody paused for a second. After yesterday's incident and what his father said to him last night, he wondered if this was the right thing to do. He was about to say something when Mr Fawnheart spoke to him again.

"Hey, son...."

"Yeah, pop?"

".... Good luck."

Cody sighed in relief. "Thanks, pop. I won't let you down." Then he hung up and walked back over to Ash. "Say, er, do you think you can lend me a hand? We've got a calf to pull down at the pen, and that's really a two-man job."

Ash looked at him for a second. "Well... okay. I guess it can't hurt," he said uncertainly.

"Great! I'm sure we can pull this one off together. Oh, and bring Pikachu along too. I think this is something it should see."

"Why's that?" Ash asked sceptically.

Cody smiled. "It might solve one of our problems..."

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Chasing the Miltank around the maternity pen and catching it wasn't nearly as hard as it was yesterday. The otherwise long and demanding task of rounding the animal into the lean only took a few moments. Ash thought it must have been because the mother was in labour. After clearing a space, the Miltank was locked in a standing position using a specialised set of reigns, and a few large tools were laid down behind it. Cody put on a plastic glove that went all the way up to his shoulder and was ready to begin the operation.

"Okay, you see that chain there in the middle? Tighten it up. We need to g-" Suddenly he paused. "Hey, where's Pikachu?"

Ash glanced around for moment and exchanged puzzled looks with Trixie. He was sure Pikachu was right behind him when they entered the pen. He checked outside and found Pikachu sitting down at one of the corner posts, staring at the ground in despair.

"Huh? Pikachu, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"Chuuuuu..." it whimpered. Pikachu knew exactly what was going on inside the lean. It was still terribly upset over yesterday's incident and it didn't want to look at another Miltank for the rest of its life.

"Come on, you can't stay there all day," Ash said, pulling the mouse to its feet and bringing it inside. Pikachu was still very reluctant and tried to pull away from Ash's grip. And even as it entered the lean, it looked away once it saw the Miltank, keeping its distance in one of the far corners of the room.

Cody stepped out from behind the cow, wiping his hands with a cloth. "Right, now on the other side there's a winch. Make it nice and tight under her gut. She can't fall that way." Then he moved round to the back and Trixie handed him a small chain. Kneeling down behind the Miltank, he forced his arm into its uterus, passed the calf's legs. "Damn!"

"What?" Ash asked, stepping behind to see.

"He's backwards."

"Is that bad?"

"Grab that big winch with the bar over there. It's bad," Cody said, pulling his arm out of the uterus. "It's like one of those old furnace blowers. The calf's going to suck in all the juices."

Ash swallowed hard.

Cody pointed to a big, greasy tool and said, "Bring that thing over the top and loosen the winch. The hook's got to come off the latch or it'll jam. Trixie, can you go'pher another chain? We'll need to hook both of them to the winch."

Trixie darted off and returned quickly with a second chain in her mouth. Cody took it, then knelt down again behind the Miltank and looped both chains around the calf's legs, which were barely sticking out from the mother's uterus.

"Is this really going to work?" Ash asked worriedly.

"Let's hope so. Pass me the end with the two prongs. Yeah, that's it." Cody pressed the hook against the cow's buttocks and hooked the chains up. "Okay, here comes another contraction. Keep your end low and crank until he comes out."

Ash started cranking. The legs of the calf got straight, then slowly began to come out of the uterus. Cody and Trixie heaved against the chains, pulling as hard as they could. But they found themselves slipping and needed some more help.

"Pikachu, give us a hand here!" Cody cried.

Pikachu stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, then glanced at its master for support. It didn't find any, for Ash was too busy cranking to notice. It was only when Trixie repeated Cody's call that Pikachu found itself taking small, uncertain steps forwards. Eventually it managed to make its way over behind the Miltank, still feeling a desperate urge to shrink away. Cody told it to pull on the chains with him. It felt very uncomfortable near the cow pokémon, but Trixie's always-gentle aura over Pikachu helped calm it down a little.

Ash cranked faster. In a second, the calf's buttocks were visible, dripping with birthing fluids. Suddenly it began to slip and a rough sucking sound was heard from deep inside the Miltank's uterus. The mother bellowed in pain as the chest, neck, then finally the head of the calf came out; and Cody, Trixie and Pikachu jumped out of the way just before it fell three feet to the ground. It splattered heavily and didn't move.

"Sorry," Ash apologised for his clumsiness.

"We're not licked yet," Cody huffed. He dragged the calf a few feet away and pulled out the natural plug from inside its mouth. Then he started pressing on its chest several times. "Oh no you don't. Not after all that. C'mon, breathe! Breathe, dammit! I'm not going to lose another one!" He pressed harder, then cleaned its mouth again. For a moment Pikachu's face went bloodless as it stared at the motionless pokémon. It knew that if it watched another calf die, it was going to go insane.

Cody rubbed the calf's sides, forcing fluids out of its mouth. It was taking too long, far too long. Just as it seemed that all hope was lost, the calf suddenly moved its head and coughed roughly, spluttering out the last of the birthing fluids. It lay there for a moment and breathed again and again, something it would do for the rest of its life. Then it raised its head and started wailing for its mother.

"Good boy." Cody petted the calf.

Pikachu stared at the thing in bewilderment, then slowly began to approach it. It stopped right in front of the calf's nose and they cautiously sniffed each other out for a moment. Then all of a sudden Pikachu's eyes lit up and it started jumping up and down with joy. It was prattling its name in half-hysterical frenzy while embracing the calf so tightly that it would have asphyxiated any smaller animal. Ash was amazed. He hadn't seen Pikachu this happy in weeks. And among all the celebration, he spotted Cody - the one responsible for Pikachu's ecstasy - still sitting on the floor getting his breath back.

Cody was relieved. All that trouble and hard work had finally paid off, and Trixie was there to give him a congratulating series of licks on the cheek. He looked at his hands, and the blood of a dead calf that once covered them was replaced with that of a live one, healthy and safe. He was just about to stand up when he saw a hand reach down in front of him, and he looked up to see Ash offering his hand to him in a gesture that was not unlike Cody's own after their pokémon battle.

"Not bad, farmer boy," Ash smiled. "Not bad at all."

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READ PART FOUR TOMORROW!!

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Phew! That was a close call. I didn't think that calf was going to make it, and I'm the author! It's a relief to see it turn out well and that it helped cure Pikachu. But it's not over yet! We've still got a long way to go before the end of this fic. Oh, and you may have noticed that I dismissed the silly theory from the game that all pokémon are born from eggs. A Miltank is a cow, and a cow is a mammal, and mammals don't lay eggs! I think Nintendo needs to go back to school.

Well, it looks like Ash and Cody are starting to make up. But the problem that has haunted Cody and his family still remains. Will the Fawnhearts finally manage to escape from Team Rocket's clutches? They certainly have high hopes, but who was that on the phone during the night and what were they planning? All of this will be revealed soon enough. Tune in tomorrow to the Fawnheart Family's Foolish Fight For Freedom! *ahem*


	4. So Near, Yet So Far

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Crikey! The reviews are coming in faster and faster! Thank you all for taking the time to read this fic. Here's chapter 4 for you. There are more romantic moments in here, which I'm sure you'll enjoy. And now's the time for the Fawnhearts to escape from Team Rocket. Will they make it? Read on to find out...

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Chapter 4

SO NEAR, YET SO FAR

"You're going to help us out?!" Misty exclaimed.

"That's right. If you want Pika power, you got Pika power," Ash grinned. Then, with his usual bravado, "Team Rocket ain't gonna have a chance against us!"

He dug a hearty fork into his spaghetti bolognese and pulled out a dangling Tangela-like ball of pasta that went high above his head, then landed more or less accurately into his mouth. He wasn't usually one to start a discussion when he was enjoying such a tasty meal, but he was just dying to tell Misty the good news. She knew from the very moment when she saw him and Cody enter the house with a look of smug complacence that he had a really exciting secret waiting to be told. And she wasn't disappointed.

Misty clasped her hands in joy. "Oh, that's wonderful! Thank a million, Ash! What made you change your mind?"

Ash slurped up a greasy string of spaghetti and smiled at her. "I guess you could say that Cody 'breathed new life' into the situation."

Ash and Cody laughed. It was wonderful to see such delight in a room that only last night was morose and sombre. And Cody was the one to whom the credit belonged. That boy could work miracles sometimes, and hopefully he'll have the same good fortune when they make their escape from the farm. That, as a matter of fact, was an issue Misty was eager to bring up.

"Well, if there aren't any further problems, we can start with getting you four out of here. Is that okay with everyone?"

Mrs Fawnheart turned to her husband with a sympathetic look, who returned it with a certain doubtfulness. But in the end, the band of hopeful faces won him over.

"Ach! All right, I guess you can give it a try," he said reluctantly. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Simon agreed. "Aye, I think we should give it a shot."

"Then it's settled," Cody said with a smile of satisfaction. "We can start tomorrow morning. If we work all day getting everything in place, we can break out at night under the cover of darkness. That would be our best chance."

"Yeah!" Ash beamed. "We're gonna hit Team Rocket big time!" And he high-fived Cody over the table. Misty was amazed how much those two have changed so quickly. First they're locking horns in a heated pokémon battle, and the next thing you know they're practically best friends.

Misty leaned over and whispered to Cody, "Hey, what exactly did you two talk about down there?"

Cody smiled. "Oh, we weren't only talking. It was more than just words."

Misty's eyes widened. "You didn't _kiss_ him, did you?"

Cody laughed and shook his head. Ash had tried to his friends what had happened in the lean, but he couldn't place the feelings into words. After dinner, Misty and Brock took the liberty of going down to the lean to investigate, but all they found was a pile of red stuff and a straggly calf sucking happily on its mother. Nothing special in their opinion.

When Misty returned to her room, she found that Cody wasn't there. Perhaps he was still finishing up a few things outside. She put Togepi down on her bed, then went to pick up her hairbrush on the desk. As she did, something in the corner of the desk caught her eye. It was partially buried under various documents, but when she brushed them aside, she discovered a piece of paper, on which the top half was covered with lots of numbers and specs about the sensors. But it was what was on the bottom half that drew her attention. It was a pencilled black and white drawing by Cody. By the looks of it, it started off as a bored doodle (probably when going over all those specs), but Cody decided to elaborate it into something that filled the entire half-page. It was a picture of a city park. There were trees and flowerbeds and grassy fields, and in the distance was the rough outline of a city skyline. There were people there too, playing football, strolling down paths, enjoying the sun; couples were sharing lunch, sitting on benches, kissing. And in all this, there was one small word written in the bottom-right corner of the page. Etched in a dark pencil, bordered by parentheses, it read: "OUTSIDE".

Suddenly Misty heard a voice calling her from somewhere around her. "Misty? Is that you?"

"Cody?" she answered into the empty room. She hurriedly hid the piece of paper back under the documents. "Where are you?"

"Up here. Look out the window."

Misty did so and found Cody sitting on the roof with Trixie. "Cody, what are you doing up there?"

"Just... looking at the stars, I guess. Want to join me?"

"Sure, okay, just a minute." Misty sat down on the side of her bed and put Togepi on her lap. "Now you be a good little egg while mommy's away, won't you Togepi?" she said playfully.

"Toge-frrrrriiiiiii!" was the usual, perky reply.

Misty patted it on the head and put it to bed. Once it was all tucked in, she hauled herself out the window and onto the roof with Cody's help. The tiles felt cold and coarse against her bare legs, but she was all right once she was sitting down on her shorts. Trixie walked round and took her place in between Cody and Misty's laps.

It was a beautiful starlit night outside. Bright specks of light dotted the sky and sparkled like jewels. Misty had often gazed at the stars at night during her camps in the woods, but she never had a chance to share them with someone like this. Brock would always nod off after the hard work of preparing and cleaning up after dinner, and Ash was too clueless to get the picture anyway. He was always impatient to hit the sack and be ready for tomorrow. If only he knew that when you're living a moment like this, you never want tomorrow to come.

"You know," Misty began softly, "I never thanked you for pulling me out of the storm the other day."

"Ah, you don't have to do that," Cody said. "Anyone would have done the same."

"No, really, what you did was very kind. I'm just sorry I don't have anything to offer in return."

"Hey, don't say that," he turned to face her. "You're already doing more for me than anyone possibly could. You're helping to set me and my family free from the people that have enslaved us for years. That means more to me than anything in the world. You have no idea how hard it is to find someone who's determined to go all the way like you are. You're willing to put yourself at risk for me, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you for it. It is I who am in your debt."

Misty blushed at this. She was a little shy towards his thanks, as if she didn't deserve it. Cody was almost too kind towards her, but it made her feel special. He made her want to be a better person. And that's when she felt it - a sudden desire deep inside pulling her towards Cody. She never felt this way before, and in a way it scared her a little. But she was too far in to back off now, and Cody could see it in her eyes. Trixie could tell what was going on and generously made space for the two. As if lost in trance, their faces drew closer to each other. Their eyes fell closed and their lips pursed out a little, waiting for sweet, sweet contact. Then at the last moment, something called out to Misty from inside her and she broke away.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked. Trixie exchanged glances between both of them, wondering what was going on.

"I-I don't know," Misty replied. "I just... it doesn't feel right."

What was this strange feeling? Whatever pulled her towards Cody was suddenly overcome by something else, something that forced her to hold back. She had felt it before when she told Ash she wouldn't have to follow him around if he had paid her back for her bike, and again when she watched him battle with Cody. She didn't know what it was, but it made her feel uncomfortable just when she got close to Cody. What was wrong with her?

"I'm sorry, Cody," Misty said hopelessly. "I don't know... I just can't do this."

Cody looked at her disappointedly. "What's the matter? Too fast?"

"Yea-... no. I mean... oh, I don't know. I just don't know," she forcefully repeated, and she stood up to leave. "Maybe I'm just tired. I'd better go to bed now."

"Yeah... we do have a tough day tomorrow," he said unconvincingly. "Well, goodnight."

Misty gave one last sad, parting look, then climbed back in through the window. Trixie watched her leave and looked towards Cody for answers, but all she got was a depressed shrug of the shoulders.

Misty was still feeling weird about what happened when she settled into bed with Togepi, who was now asleep. She didn't really understand what had happened, herself. Why did she turn away from Cody? What was holding her back? Was she too nervous? No, she was fine until that feeling came. It almost felt like guilt, like she was betraying something. But what had she done wrong? It didn't make sense. There she was enjoying the most romantic moment of her life, and she had to go and blow her chance at her first kiss for some unknown reason. And she hated herself for it. She switched the light off and tried to get some rest, but sleep did not to come to her. Her problem bothered her all night.

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Tomorrow was a very busy day. Everyone worked overtime to make sure everything was ready for tonight. All the pokémon pitched in as well. After all, their masters couldn't get the job done without them. First they started damming up the stream at both ends of the spot where the granite plate was buried, then the humans began to drain the area while all the water pokémon pumped the water over the gap. Beside the work area, Ash was with Cody and Pikachu getting everything set up to re-route the sensors' power supply. Mrs Fawnheart had dug up every extension cable she could find around the house, and parts of the tractor had to be temporarily dismantled to fill in the missing pieces. That took a bit of persuasion towards Mr Fawnheart, who was almost as protective about his tractor as he was about his wheat field.

"Okay, here's how it's going to work," Cody explained, holding out a sketch diagram. "Now you can see here that ever since the earthquake hit, sensor 1 has slipped to about twenty-five feet underground. However it still managed to remain connected to the other sensors, so there still isn't a break in the system for us to slip through. So what we're going to do is use Pikachu as a decoy sensor 1.

"While we're still trying to reach sensor 1, we're going to use all these extension cables to connect Pikachu to sensor 1's two adjacent sensors: numbers 2 and 251," he pointed somewhere along the fence to his left and right. "Those ones aren't underneath the stream, so Onix shouldn't have any problem reaching them. Once everything's ready, you're going to have to disconnect sensor 1, and at the same time Pikachu will fill in for the power cut with its own electricity. There will be a break in the system since sensor 1 will be out of action, but the other sensors won't know that because Pikachu will be pretending to be sensor 1 by distributing power to the others. If sensor 1 is inoperative, there will be gap in the system for me and my family to escape through."

He reached for something in his pail and pulled out an old, beaten sensor. It was partially covered in rust and obviously far beyond any chance of repair. Ash supposed it was a damaged replica from long ago.

Cody continued, "This is what a sensor looks like. This panel here is where the power regulators are." He opened it up. "To turn it off, first you've got to turn this dial all the way counter-clockwise. Then when you're ready to cut the power, you flip this switch here, and then it's up to you and Pikachu to keep the power current flowing to avoid tripping the alarm. Got it?"

"Uh... yeah, I think so," Ash said dumbly. Hopefully this wasn't going to be as complicated as it sounded. "But... what are you going to do once you're outside?"

"Well, we have to lay low until we can sort out our issues with Team Rocket. Here, take a look at this." He grabbed his pail and produced another item from it, this time a map of the region. Unfolding it, the map displayed the entirety of Johto's southern cape.

"Look," Cody pointed at a shaded area, "we have an old birdwatching hideout in the forest about one mile east, south-east of here. It's pretty well hidden under an old oak tree, so I don't think anyone would have found it by now. Me and my family could stay there for the meantime, and there would be a much smaller chance of us being discovered than staying somewhere in town."

Ash took the map and inspected it more closely. He had a knack for reading maps, given that he had to travel all across Kanto and Johto. He would even fight with Misty over who gets to be the navigator, since he never trusted a woman with a map. Judging by the directions here, he was sure he could locate the hideout by himself.

Ash handed back the map, then he looked around and something occurred to him. "Hey, where's Brock and Simon?"

As if on cue, the missing two appeared coming round the wheat field with something very large behind them. It was the rock snake Onix, and it was carrying a heavy machine with its tail.

"The Milk Master?" Cody said, walking up to them. "Simon, why did you bring that here?"

"Hey, don't look at me. It was his idea," he answered, sticking his thumb out at Brock. "He thought we could use the Milk Master's pumps to help out the water pokémon. If it holds together, that is."

"Hey, great idea, Brock!" Cody exclaimed. "Huh! Seems that you're not just good for kitchen work." It was a joke, of course.

Soon lunchtime came around and everything was going according to schedule. Everyone agreed to take a good hour for a break. The only ones who couldn't relax were the water pokémon constantly keeping the water current running. But there were plenty of them to relay over long periods of time without tiring. One team had Goldeen, Poliwag (who had not yet evolved into Poliwhirl), Staryu, and Horsea; while team two had Trixie, Squirtle (no, Squirtle hasn't left yet), Totodile, and even the bumbling Psyduck. Fortunately they managed to keep Psyduck out of trouble most of the time. And of course, the Milk Master was pumping hard at work to provide some slack.

Misty was sitting down at the pond where she and Cody had fallen in yesterday. Things weren't terribly quiet there with everyone moving in and out of the house. But it brought back some fond memories, and she decided that would be where she would have her sandwich. Fifteen minutes was all she needed to eat it up, but no one had bothered to join her outside. She had hoped she would have someone to talk to for the remaining break time. After all, Togepi wasn't a terribly great conversationalist.

Suddenly Misty heard footsteps drawing up behind her, and she had a feeling she knew who it was.

"Cody, listen I want to apoli-" she turned round and stopped. It wasn't Cody. "Brock? Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

"Nope, sorry. If you're looking for Cody, he had to head back down to the wheat field early to finish a few things. But he told me to tell you that you can still take the rest of the hour to relax."

"Oh," was all she could say. She was hoping she could get some time alone with Cody to apologise for last night. She still felt really bad about it.

"Are you all right?" Brock asked, noticing her troubled look.

"Yeah, sure, I'm fine," she lied. "Why don't you sit down?"

Brock did so and stretched his arms as he let himself fall back on the soft grass. "Man, I'm pooped already. I'm glad we've got an hour's break. We've had a tough morning."

"Uh-huh..." she answered, a bit distracted. She batted the idea around for a while in the silence. Finally she managed to ask, "Hey, Brock - uh - you're pretty... um... 'in it' with women, right? I mean, you've met plenty of girls you like. Well, I'm sure you must have met a few who you got to know more personally, right?"

Brock sat up and grinned, "When you're not around to pull me back, yeah, there are a lot who like spending time with me."

Misty smiled slightly at this. "Well... have you ever felt really weird during one of those special moments when you wanted to... to get close to them?" She hated the way that sounded.

Brock's face was puzzled. "How do you mean?"

"Well, I... I..." This took a lot of effort to say. "I kinda had one of those 'special moments' with Cody last night. And I just couldn't... you know... get close to him." That sounded even worse.

Misty was afraid of how Brock would react to that. He could have laughed out loud, or sit there gaping at her in shock, or look even more confused, or any number of things that would make her feel awkward. But Brock, always a loyal friend, remained calm and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I think I understand. Maybe you were just nervous," he offered calmly.

"Yeah, that's what I first thought," she sighed. "But it felt different. Like something was holding me back. I can't put my finger on it."

"Well, if you don't mind me saying so, I always thought that you and... um..."

"What?" Misty asked hopefully, believing he had found the answer.

"I just thought..... Ah, never mind. I think you and Cody would make a great couple," he smiled at her. "I think you just need to give it some time. Listen, we all get a little uncomfortable when we try something new. Swimming, riding a bike, first day at school - it can easily scare you. But once you make it through the first time, it's all downhill from there. Whatever was keeping you away from Cody will be broken someday and you'll never feel uncomfortable towards him again. All it takes is time."

It seemed a little early for Brock to begin lecturing. Misty took it in kindness. He may not be the biggest smoothie in the world with the opposite sex, but he sure was the best counsellor she had ever met. And she was grateful to him.

"Thanks, Brock. You always know what to say."

"Don't mention it, Misty. Well, I'm off to find Ash. Don't worry, I'll keep this between you and me."

He stepped up onto the porch of the house and disappeared through the door. Misty looked up at the sky for a moment, pondering questions. She shook her head, the answers not coming. Togepi yawned in her arms and curled up in a ball. Misty could feel sleep beckoning to her as well. She yawned and lied down on her back, enjoying the sun's warm rays falling gently on her. Soon she was asleep. Every now and then she heard voices.

"Simon, you know that's not how it's done."

"Hey, you try and find another way to push that hunk'a scrap past fifty."

"Well, Trixie, a few more hours and we'll finally be free."

"Pi-Pika, Pikachupi!"

"Let her sleep, Pikachu. She's been working hard."

"George, Cody needs your help down in the pen with the newborn."

"Misty dear, wake up..."

Misty felt a slight shaking waken her up, and she opened her eyes to see Mrs Fawnheart kneeling over her. Togepi was sitting on her stomach, staring at its mother's face. She felt the cool grass under her as the sky above began to cloud up.

"Grace. What time is it?" she asked, feeling a little disorientated.

"Two o' clock. Everyone's been waiting for you at the stream for half an hour."

Misty jerked upright. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful. I didn't mean -"

"Never mind, never mind," she said reassuringly, "it was an accident. Come on, dear, you can help us lay down all the cables."

She offered her hand to Misty who took it rather gingerly. She felt ashamed of having fallen asleep at a time like this. Now the Fawnhearts needed her more than ever. Tonight was going to be the night that they would reach their freedom after ten long years. And Misty was determined to lead them to it.

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Darkness was beginning to settle over the isolated little farm, and a breeze was starting to pick up. The sky had vanished too, covered in a thick layer of ever-darkening clouds. If the weather continued at this rate, it looked like the Motherwell farm was in for quite a night. But these foreshadowing signs didn't stop the activities from continuing throughout the evening.

Five more hours saw the completion of the rest of the preparations. By seven o' clock that evening, the group of humans and pokémon had broken through the granite slate to sensor 1 without suffering any accidents, dug a hole to sensors 2 and 251, laid down all the cables and hooked them up, cut open a section in the fence, and readied themselves for the critical step in their operation.

There was a long line of extension cables coming out of the ground where sensor 251 was buried, running along the ground by the fence, reaching Pikachu beside the spot where sensor 1 was buried, continuing along the fenceline, and disappearing in the ground to sensor 2. Pikachu had the bare ends of the cables cellotaped to its cheeks. It was standing on some wooden planks with Cody, which were placed over the gaping hole in the stream that was now fully excavated. Down at the bottom, Ash was busy juggling the torch, shovels and tools that Cody had given him to try and find sensor 1.

Cody peered down into the murky darkness and called, "Do you see the sensor?"

"Just a second." Ash gripped his spade and stabbed at the hard, wet mud with audible grunts.

"Be careful," Cody reminded him, "if you damage it, then we're all screwed."

Somewhere behind Cody, Misty left the team of water pokémon that she was supervising and crouched down beside him. She stared into the hole with a worried expression, wondering if everything was all right. Ash had been down there for an awfully long time now.

"How's he doing?" she asked Cody.

"Still nothing," he sighed. "The sensor should be right there."

Just then, Ash scratched away a piece of earth and uncovered a strange marble-shaped object. It was a blinking red light shining in his face.

"Hey, guys!" he yelled excitedly. "I think I found it!"

The words caught the attention of the rest of the Fawnhearts waiting over by the fenceline, and they gathered round the hole while Ash carefully peeled away the rest of the mud with his hands. Soon he found that the red light belonged to a small metallic device with two thick cables and a big power line protruding from its exterior. The shell was engraved with all sorts of ID numbers and details, but what caught Ash's eye was the big "#1" engraved on the side.

"Yeah! I found it!" Ash exclaimed. "I found sensor 1!"

"That's great!" Cody cried. Everyone else's eyes lit up. "Now you remember how to cut the power?"

"Yeah, don't worry," Ash said, opening up the panel. He found the dial and turned it all the way counter-clockwise like he was told. He was just about to flip the switch to cut the power when Cody stopped him.

"Wait! Before you do that, you have to remember that you can only cut the power during the two-second electric discharge intervals. You and Pikachu's timing have to be perfect. Immediately after you see the light flash, hit the switch, and Pikachu will take over for the next discharges." He took off his wristwatch and laid it down in front of Pikachu. "See this, Pikachu? When Ash cuts the power, use this to tell when you need to release 3000V. You're only allowed a fifth of a second margin of error, so be careful. We'll try and be as fast as we can."

Everyone was growing tense as the crucial moment came round. Cody went to relieve Trixie of pumping duty so she could rejoin the family for the escape. When she came over, she turned to Pikachu and gently wished it good luck for its task. She had a lot of faith in Pikachu. Once everyone was in place, Cody signalled to Ash that he could begin anytime.

Mr Fawnheart folded his arms impatiently. "This is never going to work."

"Hush, George," Mrs Fawnheart hissed, "give them a minute."

Ash inspected the sensor for a moment, then looked up through the mouth of the hole. "Are you ready Pikachu?" he called.

"Pi, Pikapi!" was the response.

"Right, I'll switch the sensor off on the count of three. Ready? One...."

He pinched the switch.

"... Two..."

Everyone crossed their fingers.

"... Three!"

Ash flipped the switch.

That was it. The sensor flashed its last flash, then the bright red light slowly died down. Pikachu counted two seconds on Cody's wristwatch, and on two it released 3000V from its electrified cheeks.

For a moment there was only silence. Everyone listened intensely for any signs of alarm, any indication that their cover had been blown... and heard nothing. There were no sirens, no flashing lights, and the Fawnhearts weren't put into a state of shutdown as feared. All that could be heard was the rhythmic crackling of Pikachu's voltage being distributed to the security system. The sensors were operating as if nothing had happened.

"It worked!" Cody exclaimed. "Hurry! Everyone outside!"

One by one the Fawnhearts and Trixie dashed through the hole in the fence, stepping past the boundaries of their farm, and took their first steps into the outside world in a long time. It had finally happened. After ten long years, the Fawnhearts had broken through the invisible walls of their own private prison and set foot in the awaiting arms of freedom.

"Yes, we're outside! Quick, Ash, switch the sensor back on!" Cody cried.

Ash flipped the switch again, and at the same time Pikachu stopped releasing electricity from its cheeks. Sensor one came back online and restarted distributing power, resuming its place in the system. Still no alarms. The sensors didn't detect any tampering of any sort. The operation was successful. The combined efforts of humans and pokémon had managed to free the Fawnhearts without Team Rocket knowing.

Cody was overjoyed. He couldn't believe they were free at last of their shackles of slavery. Before anything else, he threw his arms around his mother and brother and hugged them tightly, laughing almost on the verge of tears. Soon Ash, Misty, Brock, and even Pikachu and Trixie joined in for a big group hug. And yet a short distance away, Mr Fawnheart had his back turned to the group, his eyes fixed on something in the darkness. Mrs Fawnheart was the first to notice his absence, and she went over to find out what was the matter.

"George, what's wrong?"

Mr Fawnheart shook his head and replied grimly, "I told you this wouldn't work."

Mrs Fawnheart's expression became confused. "What do you mean? We're outside, aren't we? We made it."

"Aye, but look over there." He pointed towards the darkened edges of the forest a short distance away, and Mrs Fawnheart gasped in horror when she noticed what was there. Camouflaged in their coal black uniforms was a band of shadowy figures who had been hiding in waiting and were now closing in towards the escapees. They moved swiftly through the night, quickly surrounding their target and moving in for confrontation. Mrs Fawnheart nearly screamed with fright when she recognized the large, red 'R' emblazoned on their jackets.

"Oh my Lord! _Cody! Simon! Team's Rocket's here!_"

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The cry immediately alerted the others nearby. Heads spun in all directions, and everyone came to realise what was going on. Team Rocket had somehow caught on to the Fawnhearts' plan and had taken measures to prevent their escape. There was nothing less than a small army approaching them from all around. They were completely surrounded.

Cody was the first to react. "Make a break for cover _now_!" he shouted.

Ash and Brock quickly pulled out their pokémon, and Misty fetched her water pokémon from the stream to help fend off Team Rocket long enough for the Fawnhearts to escape into the forest. The three trainers sent out every pokémon in their pokéballs, and both Pikachu and Trixie stood side by side, ready to face the oncoming fight.

Team Rocket didn't wait any longer. They saw all the commotion and charged headlong into battle. They tossed dozens of pokéballs ahead of them, sending out the materialising white light inside, and suddenly the trainers found themselves confronted with an army of poison pokémon.

The trainers' pokémon darted into combat and clashed with their enemies. Flamethrowers, Hydro Pumps, Thunderbolts, Razor Leaves, Wing Attacks and Poison Gas flew everywhere as the titanic battle raged on. Cody fought his way through the chaos to try and clear a path for the rest of his family. Trixie's powerful water jets managed to knock back Team Rocket and their pokémon, but their numbers were increasing and Cody didn't know how much longer they could hold out. They barged their way through one final resistance, and for a second Cody thought that they had made it. But all hope of that was quickly erased when he came face-to-face with one last man watching the battle from the back. He stood there confidently, resplendent in his vermilion suit and jade tie, and wore an evil smile under his icy stare.

"Giovanni!" Cody exclaimed. "You're here!"

"Ah, so you must be Cody. If I had known you would be this much trouble, I wouldn't have allowed myself the pleasure of waiting to see whether or not you really could get past my sensors," Giovanni sneered in his venomous sarcasm. "No matter. The sensors will be refined after witnessing the methods of your illustrious escape, and your friends will soon be captured and under my control. Oh by the way, I have a friend here I would like you to meet."

Giovanni stepped aside to reveal a pokémon standing behind him. Its golden fur and snowy white mane stood out sharply against the darkness of the forest. But it was its mesmerising gaze flashing briefly in its spinning pendulum that concealed its real stand-out power.

To Cody's horror, he realised that it was a dreaded Hypno pokémon, and he knew exactly what Giovanni was going to use it for. He made a desperate attempt to tackle it on his own and render it unconscious, but it was too late. The yellow light on his Hypnodrone flicked on, signifying that the Hypno had established a psychic link with it. Cody stopped immediately mid-dive and found himself standing dumbly alongside Trixie in front of Giovanni. The Hypnodrone had taken over, and neither he nor Trixie were in control of their actions any longer. Further behind, Simon and Mr and Mrs Fawnheart had also frozen. Giovanni was now in complete control.

Giovanni cackled, then said to the Hypno, "All right, now have the Fawnhearts round up those three rogue trainers. This should be fun to watch."

Bulbasaur and Chikorita joined side by side, reared up, then unleashed a double Razor Leaf attack that cut five more Team Rocket members down to size. A few of their companions had had enough and decided to finish it off by simultaneously rushing Ash and his pokémon. But just as they were about to make their grab, they were suddenly sent flying by Brock and his mighty Onix charging through to the rescue.

"Phew! Thanks, Brock!" Ash shouted.

Brock gave him a thumbs-up in response from the top of his mount, but his inattention to the rest of the battle meant a sudden jet of water catching his champion rock snake from behind. Onix reared back from the pain, letting out a load roar, and tossing its master off its back. Brock flew quite a distance and took a heavy fall onto the ground near Misty. Fortunately nothing was broken. His companion, alarmed, momentarily fled the duel she was in to tend to the dazed Brock. Helping him to his feet, they all turned in the direction of whoever had fired on Brock. And to their immense surprise, they saw Cody standing side-by-side with Trixie moving up towards the stunned Onix.

"Cody!" Misty cried.

Ash yelled, "Cody! W-What are you doing?"

"Guys!" Cody shouted desperately with the only part of his body he could still control. "Team Rocket's using the Hypnodrones! Get the hell out of here now!"

Until now, the trainers never understood the frightening power these notorious Hypnodrones concealed. But standing there seeing Cody and Trixie attack Onix like they were truly a part of Team Rocket made them realise how terrifyingly powerful they were.

Suddenly the sound of running footsteps coming from behind caught their attention. They turned around, and to their horror, it was Simon and his parents who were launching an attack at their friends - their hands reaching out for them like mindless zombies. Mrs Fawnheart came in quickly, unbelievably nimble for her age, and took a chance at Misty. Unable to fight back because she was still holding Togepi, Misty managed to doge the attack and catch the old lady wrongfooted. Her husband and Simon went after Ash and Brock respectively, and the four of them began to wrestle it out. Ash didn't want to use his pokémon against the Fawnhearts, but now it looked like he had no choice. He wasn't going to let himself get captured.

"Pikachu, Thundershock 'em!" he called.

Pikachu hesitated for a fraction of a second when it heard the order, but then understood the necessity and unleashed an electrick shock on the three attackers. It was just enough to knock them to the ground away from Ash, Misty and Brock without hurting them too much. The trainers had to be very careful here. They were forced to fight the ones they wanted to rescue, but they had to try and do it without injuring them.

Just then, another sound came from behind Ash while his back was turned, and without warning, a whooshing noise followed by an intense pain on his shoulder caught him by surprise. Trixie had leapt onto Ash's back and was digging her sharp teeth deep into his left shoulder. Ash screamed in pain and twisted his torso around violently, tossing Trixie right off. She slammed head-first into a rock, then slumped down onto the grass. Trixie was out cold.

Ash buckled under the pain down to one knee. He reached for his shoulder underneath his jacket and winced when he felt that a damp patch of blood had appeared there. Pikachu was immediately distressed.

"Pikapi! Chu-Pi-Chu, Pikapi!"

"I-I'm okay, Pikachu," Ash groaned weakly.

Suddenly Misty screamed, "_Look out!_"

Cody was coming up fast for his attack. At first Misty thought he was heading for the weakened Ash, but she was gripped by panic when she realised that Cody was purposely going for _her_. She shielded Togepi as he readied to pounce on her, but at the last moment Brock valiantly charged in and tackled Cody to the ground.

Pinning Cody down, Brock cried, "How can we beat this?!"

"You can't!" Cody cried back. "Just get away while you still can! You mustn't let yourself be captured! You don't know what will -"

Before Cody could finish, Brock felt himself lifted up by his arms, and two Team Rocket members armlocked him to the ground on his stomach. Everything happened so fast after that. One by one the trainers' pokémon fell captive to Team Rocket with little to no guidance from their masters; and the unexpected turn of events leading to the Fawnheart's unwilling defection meant a successful seizure of all three pokémon trainers by Team Rocket. Ash, Misty and Brock were quickly encircled by three dozen black-clad brigands with caps that overshadowed their eyes. Their pokémon had all been captured in nets or tied down with restraints. Only Pikachu remained loyally by its injured master's side, glaring vehemently at the band of thugs. It wondered why no one was making a move to capture it with the rest of the pokémon. But if they did try to grab it, Pikachu was determined to make their victory a coarsely one.

For a moment there was only silence. Brock was pinned to the ground, and Ash and Misty were surrounded by a ring of fierce-looking ruffians. The Fawnhearts were at the head of the ring too, but they were unable to do anything under the control of the Hypnodrones. A short distance away, Onix, who was just recovering from its powerful water attack, was the only pokémon who had not been constrained by nets or ropes, as it was big and strong enough to break free. But it was clearly indicated by two Team Rocket members that its master would be severely harmed if it tried anything funny.

"Guys, I'm so sorry," Cody whispered to the trainers sadly. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"It's not your fault, Cody," Misty whispered back, holding tightly on to Togepi (whom Team Rocket had refrained from stealing away from her). "Don't blame yourself."

There was some commotion among the members, then a few of them made room as their boss stepped into the ring. Giovanni himself had approached to face the trainers, along with his loyal Hypno still emitting its psychic waves to keep the Fawnhearts under control.

"You!" Ash snarled, still clutching at his bleeding shoulder. "What are you doing here? What do you want from us?"

The sinister man laughed, "My, my! Aren't we impatient for answers, little boy? I would have thought you'd at least grant me the courtesy of introducing my two guests."

"Guests?" Ash said, puzzled.

Then, another group of Team Rocket members stepped aside, and two figures from the back strode up front. One of them was a long-haired woman, and the other a man with an oddly-coloured haircut. Both of them were donned in Team Rocket uniforms.

"Prepare for trouble!" said the first.

"And make it double!" added her companion.

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READ CHAPTER FIVE TOMORROW!!

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Uh oh, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yes, it's cliffhanger time again! What ill fate has begotten our heroes now? You'll find out soon enough. ^_^

Well, a lot of things happened in this chapter. First Misty's on the verge of kissing Cody, and the next thing you know they're unwillingly battling each other under Giovanni's control. I'd like to point out near the top that I included Cody's drawing because I like art. Yeah, I even like doodling on scrap bits of paper, so I wanted to add a bit of me in Cody. Some of you may be wondering what was holding Misty back during that romantic night with him. Well, I won't tell you what is was, but I think any pokéshipper can guess it. ^_^

Tomorrow's the final chapter, so stay tuned to finally find out the ending in this exciting fic! Dum dum dum DUM!


	5. The Last Struggle

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Well, here it is, folks - the final chapter, including the epilogue. This is where we find out whether or not all your suppositions on how this is going to end come true. First, let me just warn the sensitive readers among you that there are some more 'disturbing' scenes in this chapter. But if it's some reassurance, they're not as graphic as the episode with the dead calf. I know some of you will hate me for what happens in this chapter, but it's necessary to evoke the story's message at the end. Read on....

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Chapter 5

THE LAST STRUGGLE

No... it couldn't be! After being sent blasting off _well_ over the horizon, they couldn't have returned here so soon! Was it really them? Jesse and James?..... No, it wasn't!

"Cassidy!" Cody exclaimed.

"And Bitch!" Simon added.

"The name's Butch, toe rag!" Butch lashed out, not bothering to finish the rest of the motto.

The trainers gasped. As hard as they found it to believe, they weren't staring at the bumbling Jesse and James, but their much deadlier rivals Cassidy and Butch. This pair wore the elite Team Rocket uniform, recognised by its black suit with white gloves and boots. They were highly regarded by Giovanni as two of the best members in the team. Cassidy was a beautiful, young rogue with two long, blonde ponytails that shot out in a star shape at the ends. Her counterpart, Butch, was a wily outlaw with short, green hair and a gruff smoker's voice. Ash, Misty and Brock had encountered them on two separate occasions in the past while they were stealing pokémon. But fortunately they managed to stop them both times, and they were arrested for their crimes. The big question was, what were they doing here now?

"I'm sure you remember my two guests," Giovanni smiled evilly at the trainers. "They certainly remember you. And they have a score to settle." Then he turned to Cassidy and Butch and said, "Well, which one is it?"

The pair checked each of the three trainers, then they looked down at Ash and saw Pikachu guarding its master at his feet.

"That one!" Cassidy pointed. "It's that Pikachu that ruined our plans in the past."

Ash froze. Were Cassidy and Butch here for his Pikachu?

Giovanni grinned and knelt down in front of the little, yellow mouse. "So, this is the Pikachu that managed to defeat two of my best recruits on two occasions. Such an extraordinary victory can only come from an extraordinary pokémon. No doubt you'll make a fine addition to my collection once my scientists have finished analysing you for your anomalously high power."

He reached out with his hand to try and touch Pikachu, but the latter quickly snapped out with its teeth to try and bite Giovanni's finger off. He managed to withdraw just in time and moved back a distance. Ash felt like doing the same to him.

Giovanni frowned in annoyance. "Hmmm, feisty too. Well I suppose that's a good thing. You will, after all, be fighting for me from now on."

Ash shouted, "Well I won't let you have Pikachu! You'll have to get past me first!" He bravely managed to stand up despite the pain in his arm, and then made a running punch at Giovanni. But the attack was clearly foolhardy. A hand to the left of Giovanni caught Ash's fist before it made contact, and Ash turned only to receive a powerful punch by Butch right in the face. He fell back down to the ground and rolled over onto his stomach.

"Ash!" Misty cried in dismay.

"Pikapi!"

Pikachu dashed over to its master apprehensively. Misty tried to do the same, but she was quickly cut off by several Team Rocket members, and Brock was still pinned to the ground.

Ash, trembling, reached for his face and felt that his nose was bleeding. He grit his teeth, feeling a sense of both anger and fear welling up inside him. The physical and emotional pain hurt terribly, but he wouldn't dare show any signs of tears in front of his enemies. He had to be strong. For himself and for his friends.

"Enough of this nonsense," Giovanni said sharply. "Move our guests into the vans. I'll deal with them later."

"Wait a minute," Misty intervened, "I still have one question: How did you know what we were planning tonight?"

"Oh, that," Giovanni said rather casually, "that was easy." He cracked a cocky smile at the corner of his mouth that almost reminded Ash of his rival Gary. Giovanni knew someone would eventually ask him that, but he paused before speaking to keep a close on the trainers' reaction.

"The information came directly from an insider."

Ash, Misty and Brock were stunned. An insider? That meant.... one of the Fawnhearts was a traitor! But after the shock of the news had sunk in, Ash realised that he suspected as much. It all made sense now. He understood why one particular Fawnheart had always showed the same pessimism and doubt towards the escape plan. From the first day he bore an unjust hostility towards the new arrivals on the farm, and it was inevitable that he would take action upon that sooner or later. When he was told about tonight's plan, Ash now realised that he was just waiting for a chance to prove the presumptuous, young trio wrong. Ash didn't need to wait for Giovanni to tell him who it was. He already knew.

Pulling himself to one knee from him knockdown, Ash turned and pointed an accusing finger at Mr Fawnheart. "You! How could you betray us? We tried to help you!"

"Me?" Mr Fawnheart said, offended. "I had nothing to do with this! I'm no traitor!"

Then another voice said, "No... it was me."

And all heads turned at once, turned and faced the real traitor to the cause. There was a sort of silent gasp from the stunned trainers and Fawnhearts alike as they saw who the insider really was. Then everyone exclaimed at once:

"_Simon?!_"

--------------------------------------

"Yes, it was me," Simon said gravely. "I informed Giovanni about our escape."

Everyone was still taken aback by this revelation. It was Simon who had betrayed them? But why? It didn't make sense.

Finally, Mrs Fawnheart managed to speak, "S-Simon... why?"

"Please don't hate me, mom. I did it for a good cause," he said, seeking approval. "I had to do it because... it was the only way to buy our freedom."

And everyone gasped, "_What?!_"

Giovanni, who had been watching all this to his amusement, cackled and said, "Yes, that's right. This fine young man contacted me two nights ago with the unusual proposal of making a deal with me. He said that if my scientists were to surgically remove all four Hypnodrones from him and his family and release them from Team Rocket, he would hand me over the pokémon that managed to beat two of my finest subordinates. I accepted."

Then Butch stepped forwards, cracking his knuckles from his punch. He said in a rough voice, "Yeah, an' Ah've been waitin' for a chance to get back at that Pikachu, so me an' Cass had to come along. You can be sure we'll take good care of it. Heh heh."

Ash, horrified, didn't know what to say. He faced Simon and asked, "B-But, how did you know we defeated Cassidy and Butch before?"

Simon frowned as if Ash was taking him for an idiot. "Oh c'mon, d'you think I was born yesterday? Everyone who's had the slightest connection with Team Rocket knows about that. You don't just put a stop to two of Team Rocket's best members and expect it to go unnoticed. That story spread throughout the organisation like wildfire, and you can be sure it reached our distant farm too."

Cody let out a sigh. "Yes, it's true. We all knew that your Pikachu was the one to defeat Cassidy and Butch. But we didn't want to say anything. That might have made you suspicious of us at the beginning."

Misty said in a low voice, "And now the one we tried to save has stabbed us in the back." She was crushed from having been so cruelly deceived. "Why didn't I see it coming? If only I wasn't so.... so...." her voice trailed off in sorrow.

Yet Giovanni remained cold to Misty's despair. Soon, he grew impatient and said, "Enough delays. Cody, since it's you who had the audacity to face me earlier, you will be the one to arrest your friends."

A member next to Cody handed him a pair of handcuffs, and Giovanni's Hypno forced him to obey. Cody found himself unwilling moving in to arrest the injured Ash. Pikachu didn't know what to do. It wanted to stop Cody from hurting its master, but it couldn't bring itself to electrocute him. That's what made the Hypnodrones so redoubtable - it was impossible to fight those close to you. Pikachu could only watch as Cody knelt down next to Ash with the handcuffs held out. But as he did, he whispered something to both of them without anyone else noticing.

"Ash, I have the map in my inner jacket pocket. Use it to get to the hideout, and take Trixie with you. We'll figure out what to do about me and my family later. Pikachu, I want you to use Flash to blind Team Rocket. It's your only way of escaping now. Good luck."

"Thanks," Ash whispered back.

When he saw Cody lean forwards to put the handcuffs on him, Ash spun round and snatched the map from his jacket pocket. There was an immediate outroar from Team Rocket as they moved in beat Ash into submission. But they flinched when they saw Pikachu's cheeks sparking with growing electricity. Brock and Misty realised what was going on and they quickly shielded their eyes. Suddenly Pikachu released a dazzling flash of light that illuminated everything within a half-mile radius, sending everyone reeling back with their hands covering their eyes. Even the Hypno that was controlling the Fawnhearts was temporarily blinded and lost control over its hosts. Pikachu had managed to create a short window of time for it and its friends to get away.

Brock, now free from his assailants, stood up and cried, "Onix! Use Dig!"

Onix immediately charged in and drove its head straight into the ground, throwing up large clumps of dirt and rocks as it buried into the earth. In a second it was gone, leaving a wide underground tunnel that the trainers could use to escape to the hideout. Meanwhile, the trainers recalled all their pokémon back into their respective pokéballs. There was no time for fighting anymore. This was a full-scale retreat.

"C'mon!" Brock called to his friends as he jumped into Onix's hole. "Let's get outta here!"

"Wait!" Ash cried. "There's still something I need to do."

Misty said, "Ash, what do you think you're doing? We have to go now!"

"Just get into the hole, Misty! I'll catch up with you later. Pikachu, come with me!"

Instead of heading towards the hole, Ash and Pikachu ran away from it. They needed to find Trixie before they could leave. They fought their way through the half-blinded crowd without too much difficulty, and soon they spotted Trixie's body, still lying unconscious by the rock.

"Pipi!" Pikachu cried distressfully as it ran up beside her. "Pipi, Ka-Chu-Pi!"

"She's okay, Pikachu," Ash said. "C'mon, let's get her out of here."

He knelt down and hoisted Trixie onto his shoulders. But as he turned to head back to the hole, he found that Butch and Cassidy had recovered earlier than the others and were blocking his way.

"Urgh! That really stings," Cassidy groaned as she blinked the blurriness out of her eyes.

Butch rubbed his eyes too. "Don't worry, Cass. Ah'll get that brat!"

Once he managed to blink the last of the dazzle out of his eyes, Butch focused on Ash and made a running charge straight at him. But just before he made his dive, someone else caught him first and tackled him to the ground. It was Cody who had come in from behind and caught Butch by the legs, for he was still temporarily free of the Hypnodrones.

"You again!" Butch yelled angrily.

Cody paid him no attention. "Go! Now!" he shouted to Ash as he fought to keep Butch on the ground. "You can come back for me later!"

Cassidy was already coming to her partner's aid, and Cody knew he wouldn't be able to hold both of them off on his own. Ash and Pikachu wasted no time. They dashed back the way they came and leapt into Onix's tunnel, where they found Brock and Misty waiting worriedly for them.

"What took you so long?" Misty asked.

"Never mind that," Ash said. "Let's go!"

Among the chaos above, Giovanni rubbed his sore eyes until he could see clearly again. Then he shouted, "Well don't just stand there, you idiots! After them!"

The gang got to their senses and headed down the underground tunnel after the trainers. Giovanni clenched his fist in anger. Nobody pulls a trick on him like that and gets away with it. When he gets his hands those trainers, he would be sure to make them suffer for their insolence.

Giovanni suddenly became aware of something below nudging his leg, and he looked down to see his Hypno wobbling back and forth as it tried to rub the dazzle out of its eyes.

"Snap out of it!" he barked, slapping the Hypno violently across the cheek. "We don't have time for fooling around! We still have four slaves to control. I'll show those trainers what happens to those who mess with Giovanni!"

Deep into the tunnel, Onix incessantly ploughed ahead at a fantastic speed as the three trainers ran along behind it. But they soon became aware of the army of outlaws in hot pursuit of them. With no way of losing them in this narrow tunnel, the trainers needed to find a way to cut them off. Suddenly Brock had an idea.

"Onix," he shouted, "aim a Rock Slide behind us!"

Onix heard the order and struck the tunnel wall with its massive tail. It sent a shockwave in the Earth's crust, centring on a spot between the trainers and Team Rocket. The ground started to shake threateningly and bits of rock were coming loose from the ceiling. But alas, bad luck appeared when a curious Sandshrew popped up behind the trainers to find out what all the noise was about. And when it did, Togepi spotted the beady-eyed, little pokémon and took it for a new playmate. Without warning, the baby egg hopped out of Misty's arms and ran back towards the Sandshrew, chirping excitedly.

Misty stopped and gasped, "Togepi, no! Come back here!" She began running back towards her pokémon even as the tunnel ceiling started to collapse.

Ash and Brock stopped when they realised what was going on. "Misty, don't!" Ash called after her. "It's too dan-"

But it was too late. Misty managed to reach Togepi in time, but the powerful Rock Slide had reached its full effect. The ceiling broke away and came crashing down behind Misty, cutting her off from her friends in an avalanche of rocks and dust.

"Misty!" Ash cried. He passed Trixie over to Brock, then ran back to the pile of rocks blocking the way. He started scrabbling away at them with his bare hands. Ash didn't care that the hard, sharp rocks cut his hands as he pulled and clawed away. He needed to reach Misty somehow. But he paid the price for his rashness when the searing pain in his shoulder returned, and he clutched it, gritting his teeth.

Brock reached him and pulled him back. "Ash, it's too late. We'll have to come back for Misty later. Let's get away now while we still can," he said urgently.

Ash knew Brock was right. They couldn't help Misty now. All they could do was retreat to Cody's hideout until things settled down and pray that she was all right. Ash promised that he would come back for Misty soon. He wasn't going to let her down.

--------------------------------------

The clouds of dust swelled up in thick, greyish-brown clouds, obscuring everything from view. While nothing could be seen, a lot of choking coughs could be heard resonating through the cut-off part of Onix's tunnel. When the clouds finally began to settle down, Misty was left spluttering the last of the dust out of her lungs as she clutched Togepi tightly. The Sandshrew was gone, no doubt after nearly suffering the same fate as the cat for its curiosity, but something else still remained. As the last of the dust disappeared, the silhouette of a coughing band of Team Rocket came into view, and they were standing in the way of Misty's only escape route. When they eventually came to their senses, they glared angrily at her and began to advance on her menacingly.

Misty started to tremble. There was nowhere to run, and there were too many of them for her and her pokémon to take on by themselves. As Team Rocket drew closer, nobody seemed to notice that Togepi had begun to wave its hands back and forth playfully, summoning a power that the little egg had no awareness of. The tension mounted and Team Rocket was just a few feet away from their prisoner, ready to grab her and drag her out of the tunnel. Still blind to the oncoming danger, Togepi finally stopped waving its hands and they began to glow blue. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, a Fissure attack appeared and caught everyone by surprise. The whole tunnel ruptured in half and the ceiling caved in between Misty and Team Rocket. Misty shielded Togepi and herself from the falling rocks as the whole place came apart in a shower of earth and stone. And eventually, once the cataclysm had died down, Misty found herself isolated in a sealed off part of the tunnel in between her friends and Team Rocket.

__

Huh? What was that? she thought to herself.

But now was not the time for questions. Just as she was beginning to think she was trapped in this underground cavity, she looked through the high crack in the ceiling and spotted moonlight shining through. The Fissure attack was so powerful it broke through to the surface. It was her only escape.

Misty didn't hang around. She put Togepi in her backpack and quickly started climbing up the side of the crack towards the surface. When she finally reached the top, she poked her head up through the hole and cautiously looked around. She was in a grassy field, and the farm was still in sight, but she was much further away from it than she was before. More importantly, Team Rocket was still there, and they were crowded around the hole where Onix had broken through. They hadn't noticed her presence and she was over a hundred feet away. Behind her, the dark silhouette of the vast forest loomed over the moonlit hills. If she could just make it there, she could lose Team Rocket for good. Then she could find a way of getting back to Ash and Brock.

Slowly and quietly, Misty pulled herself out of the hole and started to move silently away. She hadn't gone ten feet before someone shouted, "Look! She's over there!"

So much for that plan. There was no time for stealth anymore. This was an all-out sprint to safety. Misty ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She was scared now. She didn't want to be turned into a slave by Team Rocket. What would happen is they captured her? Would they have a Hypnodrone drill into the back of her head like the Fawnhearts? She was terrified of the thought. And Cody - whatever happened to him? She felt terrible at having to leave him behind like this. If only she could see him one last time before she left.

As if her prayers had been answered, Cody suddenly caught up with her from behind and grabbed her by the arm. Being quite a fast sprinter, he made it to her well before the others. But it wasn't for any desirable purpose. He tugged sharply at her arm, spinning her round to face him.

"Cody!" Misty said in surprise. "What are you -"

Cody quickly cut her off. "Misty, I'm sorry. It's the Hypnodrone!"

Misty could feel Cody's hand tightening around her arm, and she realised that Cody wasn't kidding about this. She glanced behind him and spotted Team Rocket catching up fast. Misty had no choice. As much as she hated and feared to do it, she had to fight Cody, or at least try and fend him off, if she were to escape to the forest.

Cody pulled on her arm again to try and get her into a submission position, but Misty struggled feverishly against him. When he tried to grab a hold of her other arm, Misty managed to trip him up in the same manner as the time with the sprinklers, and they both tumbled to the ground. Cody rolled a short distance away, and something fell out of his jacket pocket. Scrabbling to her feet, Misty immediately recognised what it was - it was Cody's revolver.

She grabbed it and spun run to face Cody, who had just gotten to his feet and was blocking her path to the forest - her path to freedom. She raised the gun to him in defence with shaking hands, making sure to keep her distance. Misty was frightened. She didn't want to be in this situation. This was too much for her. How could things have become so bad that she'd find herself pointing a gun at Cody? The answers were beyond her grasp.

Team Rocket was seconds away behind Misty. She couldn't just stay there, or else she'd be captured. Her only means of getting away was to go through Cody, and she had the weapon to do it. Her trembling hands clutched at the revolver, and her finger began to squeeze the trigger. Her eyes, full of fear and confusion, were fixed on Cody's. She needed to do it. She needed to shoot Cody, or it might mean the end of her.

Cody cried, "Do it, Misty! Shoot me! It's the only way you can escape!"

Misty's mind was torn in two. She wanted to do it, but she just couldn't go through with it. She couldn't bring herself to killing Cody. Maybe just an injury? A shot at his shoulder should suffice. No, it was too risky. Not only had she never taken a shot in her life, but her hands were too shaky to make any chance of an accurate shot non-existent.

"Shoot me, Misty! You have to!" Cody stressed.

Cody cared more for Misty's life than his own, there was no question about that. He would rather he be dead than her. But if Giovanni got his hands on Misty, it could mean a fate worse than death for her. Misty shut her eyes to try and block out Cody's image - tears of fear escaping as she did - but it didn't help. She just couldn't pull the trigger. Her head was swirling in the terrifying dilemma. To think. Just to think for a fraction of a second - to find the courage to pull the trigger. She needed to draw strength from every inch of her body to perform this momentous task - to kill Cody.

But she hesitated too long.

Misty felt something hard club her on the back of her head, and she lost conscious.

--------------------------------------

All was silent in the depths of the forest. Concealed from the outside world, any creature could easily find refuge among the mighty trees dominating the darkened land. Above and below, the pokémon slept soundly, knowing that their hideout would be safely concealed from any intruders. But in one particular hideout, things weren't quite so calm.

In the large cavity of a great oak tree's roots, cleverly camouflaged to blend in with the undergrowth, lied the Fawnheart's birdwatching hideout. It was practically invisible from the outside, but inside a very different sight could be found.

The hideout was a bit of a relic, half of which was dug below the surface to increase space. Deprived of its owners for ten long years, it's no wonder how dusty everything was. Stepping inside was like stepping into a tomb. Sealed off from light and air, the hideout carried a familiar musty smell, somewhat reminiscent of the Motherwell farm barn. That said, there was a lot of useful equipment there. Most of the items were dust covers, binoculars, and medical equipment. But there were also layers of shelves, on which rested long-expired tins of food; and a trio of sleeping bags were rolled up somewhere in the corner - obvious signs that this camouflaged shelter was designed for long-term use.

Ash and Brock had no trouble finding the hideout thanks to Cody's map. Within half an hour they had set up a little camp inside to hold out in until they could get themselves together. In the light of his camper's lamp, Brock was busy treating the wound on Ash's shoulder, thanks to the sterilised equipment in the first-aid box that was still usable. A few other pokémon were also waiting in line to have their wounds tended to after the big fight. The battle with Team Rocket had really taken a toll on the trainer's pokémon, and some of them probably won't be able to fully recuperate until they got professional help at a pokémon centre.

"Ah! Hey, watch it!" Ash lashed out rather sharply at Brock for causing another pain in his shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm being as careful as I can," his friend apologised, slightly startled at Ash's aggression.

Ash was in a foul mood. He clenched his fists as thoughts of what Team Rocket could be doing to Misty occupied his mind. He hated himself for leaving her in the hands of those gangsters. But there was nothing he could have done about it. He was injured, his pokémon were exhausted, and they were outnumbered ten to one. If only he had stuck closer to her, none of this would have happened.

Trixie was still unconscious. Pikachu had watched over her for the whole journey, and was now resting by her side while she lay in a warm sleeping bag by the lamp. Brock had wrapped a bandage around her head for her concussion, and she looked like she was going to be all right when she wakes up. But Pikachu still felt sorry for her, watching over her injured body as she rested in deep sleep. It cared for her more than anyone knew. Somewhere deep inside.

"We should never have left her behind," Ash growled in a low voice.

"Ash, if we had stayed there any longer, we would have been captured too," Brock told him as he finished tying on the bandage. "Don't worry, I'm sure Misty's okay. We just need to wait until things settle down before we can help her."

"We've waited long enough!" Ash said impatiently. "Don't you understand? That's our friend in there! I'm not just going to sit here quietly while they could be planning her execution right now!" He stood and grabbed his backpack sitting on the stool. "You head for the nearest city and get help from the police. I'm going back for Misty. With Pikachu and all the pokémon by me, nothing's gonna stop me from getting her out of there."

"Now hold on a second, Ash..." Brock began.

"What? You don't like my idea?" he raised his voice. "Fine! I don't care! I'm not going to wait around any longer! Misty needs my help, and I'm going back to rescue her!"

"No, Ash, what I wanted to say is," Brock said calmly, "I want to go with you."

Ash fell silent for a moment. "What?"

"Misty's as much my friend as she is yours. I don't want to see anything happen to her either. If we all work together, I'm sure we can manage a quick break-in to free her from Team Rocket. And we might be able to do something about the Fawnhearts too. Besides, looking for help from town will take too long. You'll be much better off having me by your side."

Ash's expression softened, and he managed to say, "Thanks, Brock, I knew I could count on you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Brock smiled. "Just let me finish treating these other pokémon, then we can be on our way."

Just then, Trixie started to turn in her sleeping bag; and with an uneasy groan and a flutter of her eyelids, she finally awoke from her unconsciousness.

"Pipi, Chu-Pi-Pi!" Pikachu cried excitedly.

Slowly and uneasily, Trixie lifted her head and looked around. For a moment she thought she was in a dream, lost in this unfamiliar environment. Then suddenly she came to her senses. She wasn't sure how, but it was like passing from a world of misty unreality to one of harsh sunlight. Trixie realised she wasn't anywhere on the farm anymore. This place was different - cold and unknown. Her heart started to race in panic, then she turned and recognised Pikachu sitting beside her, the sight of whom managed to calm her down. Pikachu licked her cheek happily.

"Well, look who's back," Ash said. "How do you feel, Trixie?"

Trixie gave a soft purr signifying that she'll be all right. Pikachu was relieved.

Brock poured out the contents of one his poké-chow containers and offered the food to Trixie. "Here, you'd better build up your strength. I'm afraid Misty and your masters are being held by Team Rocket back at the farm, and we're going to have to get them out of there. Do you feel up to the task?"

Trixie purred again and nodded her head. Vaporeons were well-known for their stamina. (A/N: It's true!) Thanks to that, she was able to recover quickly from her injury.

Suddenly Trixie's fins flicked once, twice, then started to vibrate. It grew faster and faster, producing a light shimmering sound, sort of like a rattlesnake. For a second, Ash was confused at this strange behaviour, then he remembered what Dexter said about that in the pokédex. Brock, however, didn't realise what it meant.

"What's that all about?" he asked Ash.

Ash was a bit surprised at his friend's question, coming from an expert on pokémon behaviour. But then again, Brock still had a lot to learn. "Well, I suggest we take one of these old umbrellas with us," Ash said. "It looks like were in for a downpour."

While Brock continued to treat the other pokémon, Ash's thoughts were still focused on Misty. He would get her out of there no matter what.

__

Hold on, Misty, Ash thought. _We're coming._

--------------------------------------

The world seemed dark and uncomfortable when Misty came to. There were voices talking somewhere around, one she recognised as Cody. The other took her a while to figure out - Giovanni. She stirred in discomfort only to find that she couldn't move. She was tied down by a multitude of leather straps, and her hands were cuffed at the wrist to the cold, wooden table.

Misty looked around and realised that she was inside the barn. It appeared that Giovanni had set up some sort of a camp in this spacious shelter. But where was everyone? There wasn't a single member of Team Rocket in sight. Misty guessed they were probably outside on guard, but she still felt uncomfortably alone in this huge barn. It was like she was being watched by invisible eyes all around, staring at her as she lay helplessly tied to the table.

No, now was not the time for paranoia. Misty had to be brave. She had to figure a way to get out of these restraints. Her backpack containing her pokéballs (and Togepi) was nowhere to be seen, so it looked like her pokémon weren't going to be able to help her out here. Her only chance was to try and free her hands from the cuffs. If only she could just reach them....

"So, Cody, I'm told that you were the one who revealed the Hypnodrone to those three brats, is that right?" Misty heard Giovanni's interrogation.

"Yeah," came a contemptuous reply.

"And you were also the one who helped that Pikachu escape into the forest," he said more accusingly.

"Yeah, and I'm thankful for that. It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you get your damned hands on Pikachu."

__

Heh! Keep it up, Cody, Misty thought. _Buy me some time_. She bit into the topmost strap and easily undid the buckle. That's the first one down; two more to go. But one thing still puzzled her: Why was she restrained to a table instead of tied up with a rope? What did Giovanni have in mind?

"I'd watch my tone if I were you," Giovanni said threateningly. "It'll only make matters worse for you. Last chance - where is that Pikachu?"

A long silence ensued, and Misty wondered if Cody was going to reveal her friends' location. Then came the sound of Cody's voice again.

"Rot in hell, boss," he growled.

Misty breathed a sigh of relief. She focused on freeing herself again and tried at the next strap. After several attempts she just managed to snag it. Pulling hard on the strap, the buckle came undone. That's two.

"Very well," Giovanni said unperturbed. "No Pikachu, no deal, no freedom. Oh, and incidentally, I wouldn't count on seeing your family again."

There was an alarmed gasp, quickly followed by Cody shouting vehemently, "You son of a bitch! What have you done with them?"

"Oh, nothing yet," Giovanni smirked. "Soon they'll be transported off this filthy estate back to my office where they'll be issued new, more demanding assignments. But to avoid another insurrection like this again, you'll be working separately from here on end."

Before Cody could hurl another insult, Misty heard the barn door opening, and in stepped a Team Rocket member with some news for his superior. It was something about Cassidy and Butch having left ahead to perform their pokémon book scam on the road to Goldenrod City. Meanwhile, Misty tried struggling to get her arm free, but it was no use. She needed to unbuckle the last strap before she could get loose. She tried at the next one just passed her bosom, but missed.

__

What now, Misty? she thought. She began squirming deeper to get close enough to undo the last strap. She tried at it again, and this time just barely managed to catch it with her teeth. She started to pull hard on the strap, but paused, noticing the sudden silence.

Suddenly Cody shrieked in terror. "_No!_ You wouldn't dare!"

His reaction startled Misty and she accidentally let go of the strap. It slipped back down past her bosom and came to rest further away than it was before. The restraint had come loose a little from the stress, but it was not enough for Misty to get her hand out.

"Don't make me do this!" Cody snapped, his voice quickly succumbing to despair. "Don't you dare make me do this!" Giovanni cackled it off. "_Don't you dare!_"

What was going on over there? It sounded like Cody was in trouble. Misty needed to hurry. She stretched as far as she could to reach the final strap. It looked impossibly far, but she tried nonetheless.

__

C'mon, Misty! she encouraged herself. _C'mon! C'mon!_

Millimetre by millimetre, Misty drew closer to reaching the last strap. She held her breath, her head was sweating, she streched as far as she could go to reach the strap. But alas, after her hardest try, it was still an inch away.

"I gave you the chance," Giovanni said coldly. "Now begin!"

Just as Misty was about to make another attempt, she stopped when she noticed Cody's shadow moving on the wall. He was being controlled by the Hypnodrone again.

"I'll tell you where they are!" she heard Cody cry. "You stop this and I'll tell you!"

"Too late, slave," Giovanni sneered. "It won't matter after you've completed your task."

Cody moved into sight with a sort of truncheon or club in hand. Misty saw the look of regret and terror on his face as he drew closer to her. "I'm sorry. I am eternally sorry," he said sadly.

Misty swallowed worriedly. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm sorry," he forcefully repeated. That was definitely not what she wanted to hear. She tried to reach the strap again, but it was still too far. "I'm going to try not to make it hurt too much."

"Cody!" Misty cried desperately. "Don't do this! You have to fight the Hypnodrone! Please! You have to try! _Please!_"

"I'm sorry," was all Cody could say. He stepped up beside her. Then, directing his voice back to where he appeared, he shouted, "Please, I'm begging you, stop this now! I'll do anything! Anything!"

"Silence!" Giovanni barked. "This is your punishment for your crime. And it will teach that meddling girl a lesson too. Now unfortunately I have other matters to attend to, so I won't be able to stay and watch. But I'll leave my Hypno here to help you out. Have a good time, you two!" he laughed.

And he was gone.

Cody continued, powerless to stop himself. He lifted the club and their eyes met. Misty saw the pure terror and began to tremble with fear.

"Please..." she said in a small, frightened voice.

Cody struck quickly.

Misty regained consciousness in a moment. It was horrible. She felt him on top of her, taking more than just advantage of her. She screamed desperately, fighting to free herself, but her cuffs and restraints held fast. The last strap on her wrist, while rattling on the verge of coming loose, still remained fixed. He didn't let up. His hands were all over her, hurting her. The fear, the pain, the horror, him......

"ASH!" she choked, then broke down into torturous sobs. "No-oh-oh..."

Suddenly she felt the sharp pain of the club again, and it was dark.

--------------------------------------

The next thing she knew, Misty was being carried away from the Mothwe... Mother... Moth... It didn't matter anymore. Her half-torn clothes and the blanket around her flapped in the wind. The rain splattered against them, making them stick to her convulsing form. She sobbed against Ash's chest, holding on to him tightly.

The barn roof behind them caved in on the fire. It had been a gruelling fight to free Misty from Team Rocket's clutches. The chaos raged back and forth as each side fought to gain the upper hand. The battle seemed endless.

But it was all just a blur now.

Everything happened so fast that nobody was sure what caused the accident. A stray electric spark or a wrongly aimed fire attack somewhere, and the soon the whole barn was burning. While Team Rocket fled the scene, abandoning their captives to the fury of the fire, Trixie had gone after her masters. That was a mistake. Somehow she got cut off from her friends. Perhaps a burning support beam crashed down between them, or the fire became so intense that there was no way through it. It didn't matter. Ash and Brock had lost her in the flames.

But it looked like Misty had lost a lot more...

Ash eventually came to a stop where Brock was waiting for them. He was watching over Pikachu and Togepi. With one hand he kept Misty's backpack slung over his shoulder, and with the other he held an old, black umbrella. Ash let Misty down to her feet, and she quickly sunk, defeated, to the ground, burying her face in the folds of the blanket. A desperate urge told Ash to stay with her, but he knew that he had to go looking for survivors first. Brock would take care of Misty. He gave her a final glance, then made off into the inferno again. Misty shivered in her blanket, sobbing like a baby. It had felt so terrible... so terrible...

"Toge-Toge?" Togepi whimpered, taking small steps forwards.

Its face was drenched in rain, and it was scared. It had never seen its mother like this before. All Misty could do was lie there curled up in a ball and cry, shaking her head. Brock came and put a wet arm around her, and Pikachu lent a paw. But Misty pulled away from them.

"No-oh-oh-oh..." she choked, barely audible over the rain. She sobbed even harder, crying tearful hiccups.

After a moment, Ash returned out of the blazing barn and stopped beside his friends, gasping for breath. He rested his hands on his knees and beads of sweat poured off his brow.

Brock asked, "Did the Fawnhearts make it?"

Ash took a moment to regain himself. Then, facing his friend with a look of chagrin, he shook his head.

Brock paused. "... And Cody?"

Ash didn't say anything. He glanced at Misty, still weeping in her blanket, and felt helplessly lost inside. He had yet to utter or word or motion a reply, but by the look in his eyes, Brock knew what the answer was.

"Come on," Brock finally said in a low voice, "the Ilex Forest is not far from here. We can camp out there for the night. It'll be safe there."

Ash and Brock helped Misty to her feet, and they began to walk away. Yet in the silence, one little, yellow mouse remained behind, staring into the fire with a shattered heart.

"Pipi..." it uttered - its voice frail and trembling. It gazed at the burning barn, and a tear escaped down its cheek, flowing away with the rain.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried from afar. "C'mon, we have to go!"

Pikachu glanced in the direction of its master, then back at the barn. Finally, after one long, last look, it began to move away.

EPILOGUE

"Forget it, Ma'am, there are no signs of life here. The joint's one big pile of rubble."

"That's clear, re-con twelve. Gather up your team and we'll head on home," Officer Jenny spoke into her walkie-talkie.

She hung the device back on her belt, lifted her flashlight, and gazed around in the night at what used to be a lush, green farm. Now all that was left was parched land and blackened rubble from the fire that swept the whole area. It took a whole day for Captain Russell and Team Wartortle to put it all out; and by nighttime, there was little left for the police to investigate. They probably would have arrived sooner had they known of this place before. It was quite a mystery how no one did.

"Strange. I wonder what happened here," she said to herself. Then, on a sadder tone, "It's a shame. It looks like we'll never know."

Eventually, everyone on the police force had mobilised back into the vans. One by one the engines revved to life, and the police began to drive off. Soon they were gone in the distance, leaving the unexplained tragedy that struck the Motherwell farm far behind.

Suddenly there was movement.

The wreckage of the barn shifted, and something came out. It felt around for something to grab hold of, then began to pull hard. There came a head, shoulders, torso, legs, struggling to pull all the way out of this terrible destruction. She was in great pain, and she let herself collapse on the debris in exhaustion. After catching her breath, she raised her head and scanned the area. The whole place was a wasteland. There was nothing she could have done to prevent it. Not even last night's rain was enough to douse the fire. Now she had nothing left. Everything was lost. She lifted her head and gazed up at the starlit sky; and with deep cry of despair, she howled in the emptiness at the full moon.

She was going to be very lonely from now on.

****

End...

Thus, our story draws to an end. The consequences of these sad turn of events came not without a reason. I wanted was to teach you one thing - not all relationships end how you'd hope or expect them to. Tragedy and misfortune are not uncommon in the real world, and things don't always turn out as well as you'd see on television. So next time, spare a thought for those who have been scarred by a sad end to their relationship. Like Misty.


End file.
